


Just Anyone

by Marvelor



Category: Original Work
Genre: Celebrities, Emotional Baggage, F/M, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Light Dom/sub, Literal Sleeping Together, Male-Female Friendship, Original Fiction, Sleepovers, Sleepy Cuddles, Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-09-06 04:12:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8734438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marvelor/pseuds/Marvelor
Summary: One day in Glasgow, Scotland, Anna was driving to work and an ice cream truck slams into her car. The driver of that car was none other than Rhys Grant, a famous actor from her absolute favourite books-to-film movies, the Tommy Hatter series. Somehow, the two develop an odd friendship. This new friendship provides a missing piece in each of their lives. Anna finds a friend who makes her feel safe and Rhys finds a person who can see beyond his famous movie character to a person just like anyone else.[inspired by an actor from the real book-to-movie series about a boy wizard]





	1. The Accident

It was 6:45 and I was running late to work.

I was covering a shift for Shona and it started in fifteen minutes. I was about twenty minutes away, if I was lucky. I hated being late. You’d think after three months in the UK, I’d be used to driving here, on the wrong side of the road and all, but I wasn't. It didn’t help that the sun had set and headlights were gleaming into my eyes. Normally, I did fine with driving on the wrong side of the road, but every so often I slipped up and turned into the wrong lane. My little Suzuki Alto sputtered as I awkwardly shifted gears with my left hand. Irony of ironies, I’m left handed, so you’d think I’d be good at it, but I wasn’t. 

My phone chimed from the seat next to me. I reached out with my left hand and snagged it without checking who it was.

“Hello?” I answered, sounding frazzled in my rush to make it across town.

“Anna?” I heard Shona’s voice. “If it’s not too late, I actually can take my shift today. Blane’s parents took Aiden, so I didn’t have to stay home with him.”

“Oh, fantastic!” I sighed. “I was going to be late anyways and I have some homework due tomorrow. Have a good night, dear. I’ll talk to you tomorrow!” 

I hung up the phone after she responded to my farewell and sighed in relief. I glanced down at my phone to make sure I hung up the phone and slung it onto the passenger seat. Excited for my night off, I turned left into an alley to head back home. 

Shona and Blane were two of my good friends. They both worked at The Dragonfly & the Goat with me; Shona was a waitress like me, and Blane was a bartender, like I was occasionally on his nights off. They were married with a little boy, Aiden, but were only a year older than me. It’s one of those strange happenings that show accidental pregnancies can lead to a happy life. Blane and Shona were happily married twenty-four year olds with a sixteen month old. A miracle if you ask me. 

I’m always cautious when approaching the opposite end of the alleyway. Technically, there was enough room for two cars to drive side by side, but cars were blind to see anything coming around the corner toward you. I lifted my foot of the gas and tapped the brake as I was nearing the intersection when my phone rang. I eased to a dead stop and looked over at my phone. I got it in my hand to lift to my ear when I was slammed forward into my seat belt and my car rammed backwards a few feet. A car had hit my front right bumper, hard.

I looked up to see a stupid looking ice cream truck attached to my car.

 _This guy drives for a living, he should be better at this,_ I groaned to myself.

I opened my door with difficulty. The frame was warped, putting tension on the hinge. Uneasy, my feet met the cobblestone alleyway and I breathed. I jerked my head up because I needed to see about the other driver. I couldn’t see him because at the moment he, too, was getting out of his car. With the aid of a nearby streetlamp lighting the rapidly dimming alley, I heard the door slam and a red-haired head looked up at me.

I blinked.

“Holy shit.” I cursed, looking at the guy who’d hit my car.

It was fucking Rhys Grant. Rhys Grant was a movie star. He co-starred in the famous Tommy Hatter movies. They were a book series phenomena when I was growing up. When they started making movies, my friends and I would always dress up in robes and pointy hats and go to the midnight premieres. Rhys Grant played Tommy Hatter’s best friend, Rob. 

_What is he doing in Glasgow?_ I wondered. 

I caught a glance of my car and shook myself out of my shock. I looked closer at my car.

“Oh my god.” I said. The bumper was completely destroyed, but the frame only had a dent in it, so it might not be so bad to fix.

“Are you alright?” Rhys asked, stepping out from around his car. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even see you. This was completely my fault. I can’t believe I did this.” He turned around and started pacing, occasionally looking around to see if anybody was watching. His hands were messing with his hair, and he began babbling, “I was just, you know, trying to get home, but then these girls in the car next to me saw me through the window, and well, you know, they started following my car, so I had to…” He went on talking to himself, continuing his pacing. He kept going and wasn’t taking any breaths, but still rambling words poured out.

I took four large strides to him by his truck and held him by his shoulders. 

“Relax, man.” I said. “I’m fine, you’re fine. I’m not worried about getting it fixed, because I’m pretty sure you can pay for it no problem.” I said with a grin and a raised eyebrow. I didn’t know exactly how much he was worth from the Hatter franchise but I bet it was a lot. I saw Rhys crack a smile when I said this, but he still seemed tense. His strong jaw was tight and his auburn brows were furrowed. Blue-gray eyes were a little wild. 

“Breathe, man.” I commanded, firmly. He obeyed, taking a deep breath in, moving my hands on his shoulders up, and then he released it with a huff. With that, I let my hands slip off his strong shoulders.

Just then, I heard voices at the entrance of the alleyway. Looking over in that direction, I saw three girls huddled together looking at the slighty damaged ice cream truck. 

“I heard somewhere he’d gotten an ice cream truck.” One brunette said, beady eyes glazing over the vehicle.

“It really looked like him in the window,” a short girl said, looking at my car and me. She couldn’t see Rhys. His truck cast him in the shadow of the streetlamp

“Hi there.” I said with fake politeness. “D’you mind giving us some space here? We were just in an fucking car accident.” I hollered at them, waving my arms a bit to make them think I might be unstable. They looked at me maliciously for a second, and then continued scouring the area with their eyes to see who I was speaking to. “Oi! Don’t yal have something better to do with your lives rather than sit here and gawk?!” 

_I’m saying ‘Oi’ now. I have been in the UK too long._ I thought wryly to myself.

The shorter brunette girl looked at the quiet blonde, laughed once at me, and then they moved on. I stepped back to get a look at the one and only Rhys Grant. 

“They’re gone.” I said, standing there awkwardly, not sure what to do. I’d acted like an idiot just now, but I hoped he appreciated it.

“Thanks.” He said, then opened the passenger door, went into his glove compartment and handed me a card. “Here. That’s got my insurance number on it and will take care of fixing it up.” 

“Thanks,” I said, taking the card from him and putting it in my pocket. “I’m Anna, by the way.” I held out my hand.

“Rhys.” He said with a charming smile. 

_Like I didn’t know that,_ I thought to myself.

“Nice to meet you, Rhys.” I said, genuinely.

“Can I give you a lift somewhere?” He asked, “You should probably leave your car here, and have a tow come and get it.”

“You think?” I asked, taking another look at the car and considered the state of it. After quick consideration, I gave in, mainly because I wanted to spend a bit more time with Rhys Grant. “Sure, why not?” I said to him. 

“Wonderful.” Rhys said, skipping around to the other side of the car. I scooted back to my car, pulled it over to the side of the alley, and grabbed my purse and phone. Shutting the warped door and clicking it locked, I hopped into the passenger seat of Rhys’s truck and closed the door. 

The ice cream truck was exactly like you’d think it’d be. It was robin’s egg blue on the inside and had a door between the seats that led back to the freezers and window. Rhys hopped back into the driver’s seat.

“Got any ice cream?” I asked, merely curious rather than hungry. 

“Nah,” he answered, sadly. “Not until it gets warmer. March in Scotland is a bit too cold for ice cream.”

I laughed, “No kidding.” It was about forty degrees outside. “Interesting vehicle choice for someone in your situation.” I remarked dryly, drawing a laugh from Rhys. 

“Yea, as a kid, I’d always wanted one, and now I have one. I love it.” He answered, simply then laughed once at himself. “So where are you from in the States? The South?” 

I laughed, leave it to an actor to be a connoisseur of accents. “What gave me away?”

“‘Don’t yal have something better to do?’” He mimicked. I smiled at his attempt at a Southern accent.

“I’m from Savannah, Georgia.” I answered, unsure if he knew where that was. He just nodded. 

“So what brings you here Anna from Savannah?” He asked, smiling for some reason, maybe he was fond of rhymes.

“I’m studying at the University of Glasgow. I’m a Textile student.” I told him. “What brings you here, might I ask?” I looked over at him, realizing how unfair it was that I already know so much about him. I knew what he had done with the greater part of the past ten years of his life and he barely knows what I’ve done in the past ten minutes.

“I’m working in the Citizens Theatre’s play of _A Midsummer’s Night Dream_.” He told me. “I’m playing Lysander.”

“No shit?” I asked, crudely, and then felt odd. In the place I worked profanity was like breathing. I’d gotten into some bad habits, it seemed. I knew some Brits walked into the pub and hopped on out after five minutes because it made them so uncomfortable. Rhys may be scruffy, but I believed deep down he was probably a bit posh. 

“Yea,” he answered, looking at me with his adorable smile, then looked back on the road. We were silent for a moment. “Are you hungry? We could grab some nosh at a place up here.” He suggested. An odd expression crossed his face. “I just realized that I’ve been driving all this time and haven’t the foggiest where I’m taking you.” He laughed.

I laughed, realizing that I had forgotten that he was supposed to have been taking me home. “Sure. I was on my way to work to cover a shift for my friend until she called me saying she could take it, so I haven’t eaten yet either.” 

“Where do you work?” Rhys asked.

“At The Dragonfly & the Goat.” I told him. “I’m a waitress and sometimes bartender.”

“Cool.” He nodded, killing the conversation flow. We were driving out of the town centre, heading to the less populated part of town. Presumably, he preferred the slightly more quiet areas to spend his time.

“Is it hard living in a city like this?” I asked, curious. “Do people yell and scream and freak out when they see you all the time?”

“Usually.” He said in a tone, glancing at me with a funny expression.

“What?” I asked, seeing that gaze.

“I’m just surprised. You treat me like I’m just anyone.” He said. “I am not accustomed to that, particularly for an American.” I knew he was teasing from the smile in the corner of his mouth. I laughed.

“I’ll take that as an insult.” I joked back.

He chuckled, shoulders bouncing. “You should.”

After a beat, I shrugged. “I mean, you are anybody else, aren’t you? Just a particular someone who the world has known as Tommy Hatter’s dear friend Rob for the past ten years or so.”

“So you’re not a huge fan of the movies?” He assumed, his tone hiding his emotions.

I laughed again, maybe a little too hard. 

“I’m a huge fan and I have a tattoo to prove it.” My stomach dropped. My tattoo was sort of indirectly about Rob’s character; it felt weird mentioning it to Rhys. Hopefully he wouldn’t ask about it. “I went to the midnight shows for the last three movies and a sneak peak of the fifth one.” I told him, proudly. “I guess I don’t see why that should make you any different except that you have a lot more money than most people and you happen to have a face that is known by millions of people around the world.” I said frankly, gaining a few more chuckles from Rhys. “Though I won’t lie, I am curious about you.”

“Well, you’re not the only one.” He said dryly, “Ah, here we are.”

We pulled into a parking spot on the side of an empty road. I hopped down from the car and slammed the door shut. Rhys led me to a cute little place on the corner called Canasta Bistro. We walked in and a little old woman greeted him by name.

We took a seat against the back wall, away from the windows. Menus were already at the table, but Rhys didn’t pick one up. 

“Everything here is good.” Rhys said, helpfully.

“Good.” I smiled. “I hate bad food.”

“Me too.” He joked back.

The cute grey-haired woman arrived with a pot of tea and two teacups. I guess Rhys always got the same thing when he came here.

“S’ there something I can get ya beside tea, dearie?” The woman crooned at me, straightening up from settling the teapot on the table. I read her nametag and saw her name was Ailsa.

“Tea is perfect, thanks.” I said, putting down my menu.

“Rhys, dear, ya want anything new?” Ailsa asked.

“I think I’ll stick to my usual.” He answered, bringing out another beautiful smile.

“Fine, your loss.” She commented, and then turned to me. “Ya know what ya want, sweets?” She asked. 

“I’ll have the Penne Piccanti, please.” I ordered and returned the menu to the holder on the table.

“It’ll be out at the soonest.” She chanted, and then turned her back to me, facing Rhys. “Cute girl, where’d you find her?” She made her voice hoarse like she was whispering, but the volume of her voice didn’t change.

“I ran into her with my car.” He answered, in a faux-hushed voice.

“Damn, boy. If you’re that desperate for a girl, I know some.” She teased, and then walked off to put in the order.

“Come here a lot then?” I asked, trying not to laugh at that conversation, as Rhys was pouring us some tea.

“Yea, I live upstairs, so I stop by almost every time I go out.” He said. “Ailly is a nice substitute for my mum. Always tells me to tuck my shirt in when I leave.”

“You live upstairs?” I asked curious, looking to the ceiling, though obviously I couldn’t see anything relevant. “Not some swanky place in downtown?”

“Nah.” He brushed off. “I’d rather be away from some of the craziness. I can go there if I want, but I can also get away from it.”

“Makes sense.” I agreed, nodding. I pulled my teacup to me, pouring some milk and plopping a lump of sugar in it. “Can I ask you something?” I prefaced.

Rhys looked wary, but it may have been a put on. “I guess you can. I don’t know if I’ll answer it.” He qualified. 

“Is ‘Rhys’ a common British name? In the States, if I met someone named Rhys, I’d tease them mercilessly about the candy Reese’s. Is the name Rhys is that common here, or do you just keep it because it’s unique?” I blurted. “I’m just curious.” I sipped my tea so I could hide my embarrassment of a rude question like that.

He looked at me for a second without speaking, a smile pulling at his lips. “Well,” he laughed. “It’s fairly common, I suppose.” He laughed again.

“What?” I asked, looking at him with my head cocked sideways.

“Nothing.” He huffed, still laughing a bit. “I just really wasn’t expecting a question like that.”

“Oh,” I laughed at myself. “Will you answer it?”

“Sure.” He said, clearing his throat. “Like I said, it’s fairly common. It’s definitely not unique, but the Reese’s candy isn’t so popular here, so it’s not anything that I had to deal with.” He smiled.

“Oh. That makes sense.” I said, not sure how to respond. “One of the reasons I wanted to leave the States was to get to know British culture. I came here four summers ago and fell in love with Scotland and have been trying very hard to get back here.”

As I spoke, Ailsa was hunkering down our way with a plate in each hand. She put our plates down and asked if there was anything else we needed. As she left, she sneaked a wink at me. I grinned, and then flicked my eyes to Rhys to see if he’d noticed. Not at all, he had begun to dig into his lasagna. I suppressed a laugh because suddenly my brain was filled with the image in Tommy Hatter where Rob stuffs his face with food.


	2. A Good Friend

Unlike Rob in _Tommy Hatter_ , Rhys actually swallowed his food before he spoke. “So how long have you been here?”

“About three months.” I told him, “I was supposed to only stay for a semester, but I don’t really want to go home. I don’t think I could stand to be around Americans again.”

Rhys laughed at that. “Why not?”

I shrugged. “They’re all lazy, ignorant, egotistic and materialistic in my opinion.” I said, blatantly.

“Blimey, you just say what you think, eh?” He laughed, then taking a sip of tea.

“It’s easier than not saying what you think.” I told him with a sideways grin.

“Very true.” He concluded, nodding to himself. “So what made you want to come back here?”

“I loved the environment. Savannah is a very green American city, but we don’t get grass as green as it is here or have such wide-open spaces. I also loved the people with their various accents.” I explained, taking a sip of tea. “It made me want to live here and marry here, and then have adorable little children with adorable little accents.” I sighed dramatically, and was rewarded with a laugh.

“I can help you with the marrying part, if you let me take you out.” He joked, chuckling a bit, but clearly serious about the latter.

I laughed too. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m good for the moment as it were. I got a boyfriend.” I told him. Liam and I had been together for a month or so. I definitely wasn’t going to marry him, but he was a good trial run for getting used to Scottish men. “And besides, I’m after Scottish men, not English.” I teased.

“Ahh.” He sighed, dramatically clutching his heart. “Well, let me know when us lowly Hertfordshire boys are on the table.” 

“I will.” I promised with a laugh. “Though you should know, I am in the market for a friend, and the only requirement that he needs to be British.” I smiled with a wink. “I believe you meet the requirements. Are you any good at being a friend?” I asked, as if I was conducting an interview.

“I’m bloody brilliant at being a friend.” He told me, smiling back.

“Fantastic.” I cheered to myself. “You never know when you’ll need a good friend.” I held my hand about to him, fraternally. He shook it.

“Agreed.” He smiled. As we shook hands, I wondered what kind of relationships he was able to develop here in Glasgow, other than the maternal Ailsa. It must be hard for Rhys to find someone who he could hang out with that didn’t accidentally call him Rob.

“So, you told me that you’re working on _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_.” I stated, leading to a question.  
Rhys nodded, chewing food.

“Out of curiosity, why here? Glasgow seems like a random place to go to act on the stage, if you ask me.” I questioned, curious to discover more about him. 

He laughed once, and swallowed his food. “I’ve got some old school mates that went to Uni here and stuck around. I’ve also got family in Kilmarnock, south of here.” He explained. I nodded with comprehension. I’m sure old friends who knew him before his fame days would be worth coming to Scotland. “I also just wanted to get out of the public eye a little bit. The final movie premieres in a few months and I needed something not Hatter related to occupy me, I guess.”

I nodded, imagining the relief it must be to away from intense scrutiny.

“But, surely, you still get pestered here, just like anywhere? How is it that there’s not a big commotion about your part in the play?” I wondered.

He smiled, stealthy. 

“Part of my contract.” He told me. “I’m listed as Rhys Alexander, my middle name, in the adverts and the program, so it is only until people come to the show they might recognize me. I wear a wig, so only a few people have realized I’m me. Also, I don’t know if you’ve noticed something about the Scotts, they’re very tight-lipped,” he smirked, “which works greatly to my advantage.”

“Clever.” I agreed. “I’d love to come and see your show sometime.”

I was almost done with my food and glanced at the pocket-watch that I wore around my neck. It was almost eight. I mentally ran through the list work I still need to do for class tomorrow.

“You have somewhere to be, don’t you?” He asked, an eyebrow rose, and I detected a hint of sadness. I would’ve been flattered that he liked my company so much if I hadn’t gotten the sense that it was just company he liked, not necessarily me. I had a hunch that underneath Rhys’s exterior was a lonely guy.

I squinted at my clock again, and then looked up at him. 

“Kinda.” I parried, “I should get some work done tonight before class.” I said this reluctantly. Since I wasn’t going to work, I actually had a shot at finishing some homework that I’d planned to leave undone. 

“Say no more.” He said, standing up and putting his napkin on the table. I got up, surprised by his abruptness. Rhys waved goodbye to Ailsa and opened the door for me to walk through first.

“We don’t have to wait for the check?” I asked, smiling. I knew that Rhys Grant wouldn’t to dine and dash.

“Ailly tacks it onto my monthly rent.” He explained. “She’s my landlord.” He said this with a smile.

I laughed. Of course she was.

Rhys drove me home and promised to call a tow for my car. I found a scrap of paper in my purse and jotted my address down for him as he pulled his ice cream truck up to my red brick walk-up apartment. I sat in the car for a moment, not quite ready to leave Rhys’s company yet.

“As strange as it may sound, I’m glad you ran into me.” I said with a grin. Rhys laughed, blushing a tinge. 

“Yea, I’m fortunate to have hit someone who is an undeniably real person.” He said, matching my grin. It was my turn to blush.

“You should stop by The Dragonfly & the Goat. It’s a chill pub, and pretty dim at night, so, you know, people might not recognize you…” I trailed off, and laughed once. “And you did mention something about being a bloody brilliant friend, so I’m hoping you’ll live up to that claim.” I tease.

Rhys smiled brighter. “I’ll stop by sometime this week.” He promised.

“I’m not working Friday, but any other day after six I’ll be there.” I told him. I put my hand on the door handle, “I’ll see you soon, then.” I said to Rhys.

“I’ll see you soon.” He said as I opened the door and hopped out. I closed the door and waved goodbye as Rhys Grant drove away. 

I turned and fished out my keys and opened my door. It took me a while to calm myself down from the excitement of meeting someone new and who happened to be famous. After about half an hour, I calmed down enough to start some homework for my class tomorrow. I had settled in the bay window seat where I always do my homework for about forty-five minutes when I heard the tow truck pull up and settle my car into the spot in front of my walk-up apartment. I went out to talk to the towman, who turned out to be an amateur mechanic too. He told me it was safe to drive, but to get it fixed eventually. I almost laughed. 

_Well, duh_ , I thought.

I went back inside and worked on my school-work for a few more hours. Eventually, it was time to call it a night. As I settled myself in bed and closed my eyes, I already knew what I would dream about. Or who, as the case may be…


	3. Waiting

I went through classes on Monday wondering if Rhys would stop by work today. He’d promised that he would this week, but somehow I knew it wouldn’t be tonight. He probably wouldn’t want to seem like he had nothing else to do or maybe he really did have other things that would keep him busy on a Monday night. Simply because I didn’t think Rhys would come didn’t mean I didn’t hope he would and it didn’t stop me from looking up at the door every time I heard it open. 

The pub was busy and that meant lots of door traffic, so no doubt I looked crazy. Shona was giving me funny looks all night. My boss, Roal, wasn’t in tonight, which was probably a good thing, because she wouldn’t like to see me so distracted. I’m glad Shona didn’t ask me what was up, because she would misunderstand my urgency or excitement, or whatever it was that I was feeling.

Its not like I was attracted to Rhys. I had Liam, who was a good fit for a person like me. We were compatible. I met him at a club, which I will admit it is not generally a good start for any kind of relationship that is going to last more than six hours. However, after I took him home one night, I knew he’d be a good person for me to spend my time with while I’m in Scotland. Though, despite Liam, there was something about Rhys that drew me to him and I didn’t think it was the fact that he was famous. Maybe I am just missing my male friends back home. I haven’t really had any platonic male friendships since I’ve been here and I’ve missed that.

At midnight, as I was closing out at the register behind the bar, Blane worked his way down the bar, wiping it down. Now that we were closed and the door was locked, I was actually beginning to focus on work.

“You okay, Anna?” Blane asked, nonchalantly, though still focused on the bar, rag in hand.

“Hmm?” I mumbled, knocked from my concentration, not really hearing him.

“You seem a little on edge.” He observed, saying the word ‘little’ like ‘li-el’, one of my many favorite words said by Scotsmen.

“I, uh, well, I was maybe expecting someone to stop by.” I said vaguely, giving Blane half of my attention while continuing to close out.

“You move on from Liam then?” He asked. I couldn’t tell, but he almost sounded relieved. I looked up from the screen to look at him with my eyes narrowed a bit. He was still focused on wiping the large expanse of the bar counter.

“No.” I punctuate, sure how to take his tone. He didn’t like Liam. “I just met a person who seemed cool and told him to stop by. But he didn’t specifically say he’d come today.”

Blane just nodded. He realized I’d picked up on his tone about Liam and decided to shut up. Blane was a sweet guy, if he didn’t like Liam, I’m positive it was because he didn’t think Liam was good enough for me. Blane was just that kind of guy, and Liam, well, he has a naughty side. A side that Blane isn’t comfortable with when it comes to me, and little does he know that the naughtiness is what makes our time together work. 

Once I finished my responsibilities, I walk past Blane, giving his back a rub to show I wasn’t actually mad and headed home. 

 

On Tuesday, I was a little more composed. I resisted the urge to look to the doors whenever I heard the reliable squeak and creak of the old oak doors. The pub was slow tonight, so Roal told me to go home at 10:30. She knew that I had classes in the morning. I was nervous to do that though, because I didn’t want Rhys to show up while I wasn’t there. I dragged my closing out for thirty minutes then left, hoping that I wouldn’t regret doing so. 

 

Wednesday was more of the same. I was beginning to think that Rhys had forgotten about me, which didn’t seem totally unlikely. He was busy with the play, and probably had many other things to do with his life other than sit in a pub with some girl that he ran his car into. I was superficial to think that he really would come to see me. Who was I? Nobody.

 

Thursday was always a busy night. I think folks forget that there’s school and work on Friday and pretend that its already the weekend. Go figure. I got to work fifteen minutes before my shift at six and hopped from table to table all night to keep the customers happy. 

One of the only nice things about being American, particularly from the South, is that if you get an order wrong or forget something I can just throw a sweet little twang into my mild southern accent and the customers give me that endearing smile and forgive me. They also don’t expect Americans to be as clever as Brits either. My southern accent usually works better with members of the population that possess a Y-chromosome, but it is still a fairly good tool. 

Around ten o’clock, we generally slow down a touch. People are finishing up their meals, and the last call rush of people generally come in around eleven. 

I went over to a table of two couples and dropped off another round of beers when I heard a chair behind me scrape on the floor. Getting out my notepad, I turned to the table behind me. 

Rhys and two other guys were settling into a table. A slim guy with buzzed sandy blond hair sat between Rhys and a stocky guy with shaggy brown hair. They looked up at me as I turned.

“Hey!” I said, rather excitedly. I threw an arm around Rhys’s shoulder. When I released him, Rhys grinned, looking pleased with my reaction to seeing him. “It’s good to see you. I was beginning to wonder if you’d forgotten about me.” I teased lightly, even though it was a little true.

“Nah,” he waved off, sitting down. “I was just waiting till my mates could come along. Anna, this is Mark and Alan.” He gestured appropriately to each of his friends. Mark was the stocky guy, and Alan was the slim blond. “We were in primary school together.”

I smiled widely. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Alan.” I extended my hand and shook his. “Mark,” I shook his too. They both mumbled something quiet. It made me feel like I was being loud. “So what can I get yal?” I asked them all.

For a moment, the three of them just looked at me, grins tugging at the side of their mouths. 

“Aw, well aren’t you just adorable.” Mark cooed, but instead of patronizing, it was genuine. I let the confusion show on my face, all I’d done was try to take their order.

“Hunh?” I asked, looking to Rhys and Alan. Alan laughed once, and Rhys shook his head, obviously kind of embarrassed.

“He means your accent.” Alan said quietly. “Rhys said you had a nice accent.”

Rhys sighed loudly, and leaned his head against the wall. I laughed, knowing the he was regretting bringing his friends to meet me. 

“Well, ah, thanks, I guess.” I laughed. “Let me rephrase. Is there anything I can bring you folks?” I said each work clearly. They all laughed, which, of course, was my intent. They ordered three pints of Harp, no food. I jotted it down and set off to the bar. I glanced back at the table to see Rhys socking Mark in the arm. I laughed quietly to myself. 

As I was filling the glasses and waiting for the foam to calm, I looked down at myself, smoothing my short black shorts and straightening my V-neck top. I unconsciously smoothed my ponytail until I realized what I was doing and let go. I set the three glasses on a tray and headed back to their table. I glanced around. I had one table of people left and I’d just given them their food, so I had some time before they’d need me. So I swung a chair around and joined them.

“So what do you guys do here in Glasgow?” I asked, starting off the conversation. I looked down at my hands and fiddled with the leathery bands I wore on my hands.

“I’m working at the Buchanan Galleries as a junior curator,” Alan said, “I’ve been working there almost a year. I started after I graduated.”

“That’s really cool.” I smiled. “Did you major in Art History at Uni?” I asked, using the Brit term for university.

“Yea.” He told me, looking almost like he was embarrassed, but I appreciated men that appreciated art.

“I considered minoring in Art History.” I told him honestly. “I wasn’t willing to take the extra time and money to do it.”

He nodded understanding the decision. I turned to Mark. “What about you?” I asked, running my finger between my skin and the leathery band on my wrist out of habit.

“I work in a body shop, my uncle owns it, so when I got out of school I headed up here.” He said, not sounding very interested.

“My boyfriend, Liam, works at a body shop part-time. What’s your place called?” I asked, wondering how small the world may be. I noticed in the corner of my eyes that Alan’s flicked over to Rhys when I mentioned Liam.

“I work at Citroen, but I think I know a guy named Liam. He works at Auto Cruiser?” Mark asked, surprised.

I nodded. That was the place. Marks eyebrows rose.

“He’s a big guy.” Mark observed, sounding impressed. I was sure I saw him glance at Rhys.

I smiled. “He also works as a bouncer at the Tunnel.” I told him, naming the club where we’d met. Mark nodded, believing that. I glanced over at my one table and saw them looking around,  
presumably for me. “Excuse me,” I said, looking back around for a second. 

I climbed out of the chair and skipped over to them. The woman wanted some bread with her pizza margherita. Go figure. I went to the kitchen and got some and headed back. 

When I gave them their bread, I walked back over to Rhys’s table. I noticed that they’d been sure to pick the table that was in the back corner, which was the least lit area and minimized the  
probability that someone would recognize Rhys, who was also wearing a baseball hat covering his hair. 

I resumed fiddling with my hand bands. I had one on each hand. The band went around my wrist and connected to four straps on the back of my hand that wound around my four fingers. Unseen to others was a switch and small battery on the insides of my wrist. It was a habit to fiddle with them when I wasn’t carrying anything.

When I sat down this time, I was sure to look at Rhys. I’d done my polite duty by inquiring about his friends, but really I wanted to talk to him. He looked at me, I think we both wanted to ask the other something, but were waiting for the other to speak. I wondered what Alan and Mark thought with us just looking at the other for a few beats.

“Are those for your wrists while you’re waitressing so you don’t injure them?” Rhys asked, reaching out to take one of my hands, holding it up. I felt an impulse to close my hand over his to hold it, but refrained.

I laughed once. “No. They’re, um, like…” I paused, not knowing how to explain them. “My brother is an industrial designer, who works with electronic textile designers, and he made them for me.” 

I held my other hand out to Mark and Alan so they could look at them. Rhys was turning my hand that he held over in both of his. 

“It looks like leather, but it’s actually an E-textile that responds to electromagnetic currents. Let me show you.” I reclaimed my hands and crossed my hands and flipping the unseen switch. The sound of the change almost sounded like a sword being drawn from a sheath, but quieter. The leathery straps expanded and hardened to the feel of iron. I held my hands back out to them.

“They’re like brass knuckles, but better because they don’t hurt your own fingers as much when you punch. Also you can back-hand someone too,” I slow-motioned back-handed Rhys, pressing the back of my hand with the four metal-like strips against his cheek. I looked at Mark and Alan. They were obviously impressed. “My brother said he’d feel a lot better knowing I had these when I left for Scotland. I could protect myself.”

“Have you actually had to use them?” Rhys asked, half concerned and half curious. The grin on my face faded a little, as I remembered. I saw his eyes soften.

“Just once,” I told them. “A female bartender sometimes is too much for some guys to handle after a few drinks.”

“Well, darling, a hot thing like you could certainly drive a man crazy.” Mark said, lewdly. To my surprise, Alan smacked him on the back of the head. I took my hand back from Mark and cover my grin with it.

“Blimey, man, don’t say things like that to a nice girl!” Alan chastised Mark. I composed a straight face and stood up needing to check on my last table.

“That’s sweet of you, Alan. But I have to say,” I paused, smiling to myself, looking from Rhys to Alan to Mark, “What on Earth makes you think I’m a nice girl?” I smiled, before I turned away and let them ponder that. I’d said it teasingly, but really, it was true when it came to rolling in the sheets.

I went over and asked if my one remaining table would like dessert. They declined and asked for the check. I went over to add up their bill and overheard Alan, Rhys, and Mark talking. Mark said something about my ass, Rhys told him to shut it. I grinned, appreciating both sentiments: Rhys’s defense and Mark’s admiration. Alan wondered what I meant about not being a nice girl. Mark said he thought it meant I liked it rough in the bedroom, and mention the fact that I was with Liam. I smiled to myself because he obviously understood exactly what I meant. I wondered what kind of guy talk Liam was known for. Alan and Rhys were quiet after Mark said that, I wondered if they noticed I was barely within earshot. I heard them talking more softly, so maybe they did.

I left the check for my table and returned to Rhys seeing him standing up. They were getting ready to go. I couldn’t help feel sad, I didn’t really get to talk to him much. 

“You leaving?” I asked Rhys only.

“Yea, I got a run-through tomorrow morning.” He explained throwing a twenty on the table for their beers. 

I snatched it up. “Let me get your change.” I said and turned to go.

Rhys’s hand was on my arm. “Keep the change.” He insisted. 

I shook my head. “Nope, I don’t take tips from friends.” I smiled, waving him over to the register. He followed me over, Alan and Mark walked through the pub and out the front doors. 

I fussed with the register, stalling so we could talk. “So when is your next show?” I asked, anxious to set up another plan to see him.

“We have one tomorrow, if you’re free.” He answered, sounding pleased with the turn of conversation.

I looked up at him as the cash drawer opened. “I’m free.” I told his round blue eyes, smiling. I looked down and got his change. “I’d like to see it. _A Mid-Summer’s Night Dream_ is one of my favorites.” I said, honestly. I collected his change and closed the drawer, looking up at him again, holding out his change.

He was smiling when he said, “I’ll leave some tickets at will call?” He asked.

“Sure.” I answered, thrilled that he seemed as happy as I was. I walked around the bar and started to walk him to the door. I peaked at the table they sat at and saw a fiver. I snatched it up while Rhys’s back was to me. I’m sure he left that when I was leading him to the register. Little did he know the extent of my stubborness. I walked to the doors and Rhys turned around.

“Should I leave a ticket for Liam?” Rhys asked, being courteous.

I shook my head. “Love the guy, but he’s not very cultured.” I laughed, knowing that he definitely wouldn’t enjoy Shakespeare.

“So one ticket for will call?” He confirmed. I nodded. “It starts at eight, you know the Citizen’s Theatre?” 

“Yep,” I nodded, and reached out for a hug. This was a full hug, not the half embrace from earlier. Once I released him, I held up the fiver. “Don’t tip your friends, it’s weird.” I told him with a grin, and then stuck the bill in his jacket pocket. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” I said before I waved goodbye to Mark and Alan. Rhys had an amused look on his face when he saw me return the bill.

I finished my shift and did my prep work for Kay, who was working tomorrow during my usual shift. Liam texted me as I was leaving, wondering if he could come over in twenty. I replied that he should make it fifteen and sped home.


	4. Liam

I parked my car in front of my little townhouse and walked up the stairs. I got the key in the door and opened it. 

Suddenly, my face was pressed to the wall in my foyer. Strong arms pinned my hands to my sides. I felt a warm, firm body pressed behind mine.

“You’re late.” A deep voice growled in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. I’m very sensitive to auditory stimulation. I loved deep, rich voices, especially when they were whispering in my ear. I was flushed just from his voice and the feel of his body pinning mine.

“My car isn’t running at its best.” 

I made excuses, even though my car was actually running fine. I played along to make it interesting. His strong arm wrapped around my belly, and lifted me up into his arms. I am not a small woman, standing at five foot seven and weighing around a hundred and fifty pounds. I’m not one of those girls that guys pick up and run around with for fun, so for me to be tossed around by a man was another huge turn on for me. It made me feel light and feminine. 

Liam opened the door to my bedroom and carried me in. He tossed me on my bed, bouncing twice. I stay put where he placed me as he closed the blinds that looked out onto the street. The room was dark, so I could only see a faint outline of his silhouette. I listened to the steps toward my bed and the sound of him slipping out of his shoes. Liam liked to make me wait. He knew it made me hot, imagining what he would do to me next.

Then his body moved quickly, straddling my body. My legs were pinned down with his, and then he leaned forward to pin my arms down too.

“Did you tell me that you would be here in fifteen minutes?” Liam asked harshly, knowing I liked to play this game.

“Yes.” I whispered, faintly. I was short of breath from his manhandling.

“Were you here in fifteen minutes?” He continued. His face dropped to run his nose in my hair. I heard him inhale, smelling my lavender shampoo.

“No.” I admitted.

“What do you think I should do about that?” He asked. “I don’t like being lied to.”

“I think you should punish me.” I answered, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice.

With that he rose onto his knees, and unbuttoned my jeans and shoved them down to my knees. I loved to be undressed. There was a certain kind intimacy about letting your partner uncover your body. It was one of the few forms of intimacy that I was comfortable with. 

Liam ran both his hands down the outside of my thighs. The sweet spot between my legs was throbbing. I tried to restrain from moving against his touch. 

Moving away from my sweet spot, Liam ripped my shirt off of me and paused, sitting back to look down at me. His strong, calloused hands moved over my shoulders, then firmly molded my breasts, held within my plain cotton bra. Then they snaked down my stomach, almost to my panties. I moaned in desperation. I arched my hips up in hopes of easier access, but Liam’s weight on my legs prevented it. 

“What do you want most right now?” Liam asked, hand moving to my hips.

“I want you to fuck me with your big cock.” I pleaded.

“Good, but first you must have your punishment.” He explained. “Turn over.”

He rose on his knees, so I could flip onto my stomach, then he sat back down. I felt his hand slide up my back to unclasp my bra, and then it moved down to rest gentle on my butt. I waited. Then felt a stinging slap on my right cheek. The hand soothed it out and then I got a slap to the left cheek, doing the same soft rubbing. Then Liam kneeled up.

“Get on all fours.” He ordered. I did, letting my bra fall to the bed. I heard Liam pulling off his shirt and felt his hands running over my hips and butt again. Then I felt him slide my panties down to my knees. Unasked, I lifted my knees up, each in turn, to fully remove my jeans and panties. I heard them hit the floor. I now was fully naked, exposed. 

Liam still wore his pants. 

I concentrated on the feel of his hand moving over my skin, closing my eyes. His hand slipped in between my legs. I gasped. I was very turned on and he could tell. His fingers came out wet. I got another firm spank, feeling my wetness on his fingers. He knew just how hard I liked it and gave it to me with just a hair more than that to show he was in control. 

After about ten more, I felt him stop. My ass was on fire, burning from his hand. I needed him inside me. I almost cried out when I heard him pulling his pants off. Almost immediately, his thrust was in me. I moaned loudly, grateful I had thick walls. He thrust in roughly again and I gasped. He liked taking me by surprise with no warning, and so did I.

He leaned his body over, his rippled torso resting on my back. He groaned deeply, right next to my ear, which makes me go crazy. I pushed back against him as he continued into me. 

I called out, feeling his hand on my breast, playing with my erect nipple. I was breathing heavily as he thrust in again hard. Then I felt pressure on my clit, realizing his hand had abandoned my breast for another location. His hand moved in rhythmic circles that matched his urgent thrusts, filling me completely. His pace quickened, the hand continuing its mission. Then, I felt my body start clenching around him uncontrollably, and Liam let out a cry with his release seconds after me. I collapsed onto the bed, panting. 

 

Liam never stays over. 

Like me, he has some severe intimacy issues and never stays longer than twenty minutes after we finish. Honestly, though, I prefer it that way. If I spend too much time with Liam, I start to kind of hate him. I call him my boyfriend for society’s sake, but a more accurate term would be lover, though people don’t use that word anymore. It sounds too serious. I guess fuck buddies or ‘friends with benefits’ might be more accurate because we’re exclusive, but we’re not really friends, either, so that doesn't really work. Liam and I go on “dates,” but that usually just entails the two of us going to a club where we can gyrate against one another, which is just like prolonged foreplay. We never stay at home, eat dinner and watch a movie. 

We’re not that kind of compatible. We’re compatible because we have similar sexual deviancies.


	5. Friending

Friday morning, I got up and went to class feeling excitement to see Rhys again tonight. I told Liam last night that he should stop by after the show, mainly as a way of letting him to know that I would be spending time with another guy tonight. 

When I got home after class, I did a little homework until about six, by a little homework, I mean very little. I went to my closet and looked at a few things I could wear. I flipped through then decided to wear my black skinny jeans with my Diesel black knit top. It was a loose gauge so the shirt was mildly see-through. It had a very low back with a strap across the shoulders to keep it from falling off my shoulders. I wore a black satin-stretch bandeau, which could easily be seen with the low back of my shirt. I slipped on my black suede ankle boots with yellow soles.

I usually wore my long hair up in a ponytail, simply because hair that goes to your waist can get in the way at all times, but tonight I decided to wear it down. My hair is naturally wavy, so the wave shortens my hair to just above my elbows. My hair would be called strawberry blonde, but really, it wasn’t. You could find any color in my hair, blonde, brown, black, red, gray, and everywhere in between. The sum of those colors together gave it a deep reddish blonde hue. I redid my day make-up, darkening my eyeliner and reapplying some mascara. A little after seven, I left for the theatre. 

As I was driving, I wondered whether Liam would actually come. I didn’t tell him that Rhys Grant would be there, not that Liam really follows movie actors. He’s kind of oblivious to those kinds of things. I just told Liam that I knew a guy in the play and I might go out with him after.

The Citizen’s Theatre is a relatively small company with the theatre entrance halfway down an alleyway. Once inside, I stepped up to the ticket booth, and gave my name. The woman behind the counter with face tattoos gave me an envelope. I stepped away from the booth to let the people behind me go. I opened the envelope and saw a handwritten note and a ticket. I took out the ticket and walked to the theatre, saving the note for once I was seated. The usher gave me a program and I walked to my row. Hardly surprising, I had a wonderful seat, the front of the middle rows and in the middle of the row.

I sat and opened my note.

**If you can go out afterwards, show this note to the usher at the stage door.- R**

I smiled, glad that he wanted to see me after the show. I was fifteen minutes early, which meant I had at least twenty minutes until the show started. The theatre filled up fairly quickly. It made me wonder if the show was really very good, or if rumors had spread about Lysander being played by Rhys Grant. I looked through the program and laughed when I read ‘Rhys Alexander’s’ bio. It stated that he got his first acting job ten years ago and so cleverly neglected to mention that the one job consumed the proceeding tens years of his life.

Eventually, the lights dimmed and the curtain speech began. The actors began capturing my attention until I first saw Rhys. He had told me that he wore a wig, but I’d forgotten until that moment. He had a curly, shoulder-length brown-black wig on. It was a good wig, no obvious hairline indicators. Some might believe it’s real. It was very Pirates of the Caribbean-esque. As I watched the show, however, I realized that people could watch the play and not recognize Rhys, with the wig, and the make-up work. But no true Tommy Hatter-ite wouldn’t immediately recognize the sound of his voice and know who he was. Maybe it was just my sensitivity to sound, but I could place his voice in a heartbeat.

When the play ended, I clapped and cheered when Rhys took a bow. I follow suit when the audience members began a standing ovation. It really was a wonderful production. After the curtain lowered, the audience began to file out. I noticed the door by the stage with a big usher standing there, guarding. I worked my way over, struggling to get by. I realized that a lot of people were trying to get through the doors, but the usher wasn’t letting them in. I patiently snaked through the people, using my elbows when necessary until I arrived before the big, bald usher, who looked rather irritated. I held out the note and the usher took it looking carefully. I swept back my mane of hair that had been fussed with by all the people. 

The usher nodded to me and pocketed the note. “Just her.” He said, pointing at me, looking at everyone else. He stepped forward letting me step between the door and him. I opened the door and slipped back stage. With a crowd like that, I felt sure that people must know who Rhys was.

The backstage area I’d stepped into was a long carpeted hallway that held four clip lamps with blue gels over them, giving the hall an eerie feel. I jumped when I heard a woman stand from a seat in the darkness.

“Are you here to see Donna?” The little specky woman asked. She wore a pencil skirt and a flower print button-down blouse.

“Uh, no.” I answered, “I’m here to see Rhys.” I told her.

She visibly started to my answer. 

“Follow me, I’ll show you where his dressing room is,” She said and trotted off down the creepy hall. 

I hesitated for a second, worried that I might walk in on Rhys changing or something. But once I turned left around the corner, I saw him sitting on a bench tying his shoes in a brightly lit hallway with half a dozen doors. His face looked freshly washed of make-up and his brilliant red hair now released from the wig. His head turned at the sound of my boots clopping on the tile that had been uncovered once I turned the corner. When he saw me, his eyes smiled before the rest of his face did. I picked up the pace to walk over and hug him. Rhys surprised me by taking me up into what could only be described as a bear hug, which drew a laugh from me. 

“You were wonderful.” I told him, as he let me go. His expression changed to a modest, embarrassed one at my praise.

“Thanks.” He said, quietly as he sat down to resume tying his shoe. I joined him on the bench.

“Well, I think you guys are fine now, so I’ll leave you guys to it then.” Specky woman said, walking back down the creepy hall.

“Thanks, Beck.” Rhys called you her.

“There’s a lot of people out there, waiting by the door.” I told him. “I almost started a fight to get to the door.” I exaggerated. “Are they here to see you?” I asked.

Rhys laughed once. “Most of them, I think.” He said, glancing up at me. “But surprisingly, it never gets worse. Our house capacity is never a completely full house, and the crowds don’t get worse. It’s like the people come see it once and then don’t tell anyone or if they do tell, they only tell one person and that person tells no one. Weird, right?”

I nodded. “Maybe they all just take pity on you.” I teased, knowing that he didn’t want pity, though perhaps he enjoyed the result of it.

He laughed again. “Maybe.” He sat up, finished fixing his shoes. I peaked at my phone, and saw that Liam said he’d be here in five, which surprised me. “So you wanna go do something? Get something to eat?” Rhys asked.

“Sure.” I consented. “I invited Liam to come by after the show to meet you, if that’s alright?” I asked. “To tell you the truth, he probably won’t realize who you are until tomorrow morning. He’s not the cleverest fox in the woods.” I joked, but also serious too.

Rhys shrugged. “Sure. You tell him to meet you out front?” I nodded. “Cool.” He said, standing up, I did the same.

“So who was Donna?” I asked, following Rhys in the opposite direction of the creepy hallway.

“She was Tatiana. She’s something of a local celebrity.” Rhys explained, looking at me. I saw his gaze move down my back, watching my hair. I fought a grin and nodded.

“The lady seemed surprised when I said I was here to see you instead of Donna.” I told him. Rhys pushed a door open and held it for me as I passed through.

“Yea, Donna likes her female visitors,” he explained, with a significant tone. I took that to mean Donna was lesbian and had frequent women admirers. “Also, I don’t really have many visitors.” He said, softer. I was sorry for Rhys because his notoriety isolated him so much that he has to segregate himself away.

We were now walking through another alley. This one was wider and darker and had people standing around. I inched closer to Rhys, wary, and he placed his hand on the small of my back, meeting bare skin. I remembered that my shirt had a low back. I heard a quick, little sound of breath from Rhys in reaction to his warm hand on my skin. A few people in the darkness turned around to look at us. Rhys stepped closer to me too. I crossed my hands to arm my wristbands, if necessary, only to remember I wasn’t wearing them. I held my hands out to look, not believing my senses.

“Shit,” I whispered, looking back up as we walked briskly. Rhys looked down, seeing my hands held out, bare.

He held me closer. “We’re okay.” He said, lightly. He was unconcerned, and had stepped closer only for reassurance. 

We were almost to the street.

“My brother would kill me.” I muttered, only a little angry with myself.

Rhys chuckled softly, “You’re still okay.” He repeated. His deep voice was soothing.

When we got to the mouth of the alley, Rhys dropped his arm, but stayed close. I looked around to get my bearings and saw Liam. 

I called out his name, raising an arm up.

He turned and headed over. Liam had just come from work. He had been at the Tunnel tonight, so he was wearing a black tee with black pants. I laughed when I realized once he stood next to me, we would be two people in black, head to toe. I held my hand out to him as he got closer. Liam took my hand and leaned in for a kiss.

Liam doesn’t ever give chaste, public kisses. He raised his other hand and held my neck, deepening the kiss. When I could, I broke the kiss, turning to Rhys with apology in my eyes. I hated it when couples kissed like that in front of me.

“Liam, this is Rhys. Rhys, my boyfriend Liam.” I introduced. Liam released my hand to shake Rhys’s, and then placed it on my waist. His thumb traced circles on my skin where Rhys’s hand had been less than a minute ago.

“Nice to meet you,” Rhys said, to Liam’s perfunctory ‘hi.’ 

“You’re the guy who smashed up her car?” Liam asked, laughing.

Rhys grinned, sheepish. 

“Yea, that was me…” He trailed off.

“So we were gonna go get something to eat if you wanna come.” I told Liam, leaning away so I could look at him.

“Where y’going?” Liam asked, sounding neutral. 

I looked at Rhys and shrugged.

“Ever been to The Glaswegian Bar?” Rhys asked me, then remembered Liam and looked to him too. “That’s only a few blocks away.” 

“Sounds fine to me.” I said, looking to Liam this time. Liam heard this and let go of me and stepped back. I turned to look at him.

“I was gonna catch up with Robby and Steve tonight.” Liam said, not looking at me.

“Okay…” I said, finding it odd that he showed up at all. “So why’d you come by?” I asked.

“I wanted to see your fine ass and meet your friend.” He said, taking my waist again, then sliding it lower to rest on my ass. I got the impression that he only came to scope out the competition and stake his claim. He was possessive like that, and that worked for me.

“Okay.” I shrugged, but smiled. “Talk to you later, then.” 

Liam bent and kissed me again, less embarrassing this time. 

“Good to meet ya.” Liam said, walking away. Rhys waved, but he’d already turned away. I looked up at Rhys, and shook my head.

“He’s an odd one.” I stated, offering no other explanation. 

Rhys laughed and we started walking toward the River Clyde. “Yea, I’d have to say he is.” He agreed. “So, you mentioned you have a brother? Older, I assume?” 

I nodded, “Four years older.” I nodded, then looked to Rhys, “I’m twenty-three.” I told him, knowing that would give him a better idea how old my brother is.

He nodded.

“I also have a twin, Natalie, but I call her Lee.” I told him, looking down at the sidewalk. I leapt over a hole.

“Really?” Rhys looked down at me. I met his gaze. “You struck me as a one-of-a-kind girl.” He teased.

I laughed. “Oh, don’t worry. I am.” Lee was nothing like me.

“Are you fraternal or identical?” He asked. We paused at a crosswalk. 

“Identical. But my hair has more curl in it and she’s not as strong as me. She chose the guitar instead of dancing.” I explained. “But she’s prettier.” I said honestly.

I didn’t have a problem with that. I liked the way I looked, but I just thought Lee was prettier. The light turned and we crossed the street to walk along the river.

Rhys laughed. 

“That’s hard to believe.” He said, being sweet. I lightly smacked his arm, not letting him sweet-talk me. “Do you have any extra-sensory twin stories?” He asked genuinely interested.

I nodded slowly. 

“Lee’s more sensitive to it than me, but I think that’s just because she’s a less selfish person than me, less self-absorbed. If anyone ever had a better half, she’s mine.” I said, “She always knows when something different is going on in my life, when things change. But its not like I know when she breaks up with her boyfriends or girlfriends, or when she went skydiving. I know when something’s wrong, or she’s upset. Its like she’s on my mind and I can’t stop thinking about her.”

“That’s pretty cool. I wish I had something like that.” Rhys said, enviously.

“Like a sixth sense about when you’re about to be mobbed by fans?” I teased. He laughed.

“Yea.” He said, simply.

“So do you have brothers or sisters?” I asked, wanting to stop talking about me.

“Yea, I do. Three sisters, 17, 14, and 12 and a brother who’s twenty.” He told me. My eyes widened, that’s a lot of kids and all at difficult ages. 

“Wow. That must’ve been a handful.” I said, “Do you get to see them very often?” I asked.

He shook his head, noncommittally. “Sometimes. My brother, Jimmy, is at Uni, so he’s not home much when I go visit. I try to visit home at least once a month.” We turned left onto the block where The Glaswegian Bar was.

“That’s nice, I wish I could do that.” It was my turn to be envious. “I bet your sisters adore you.” I thought, knowing he would make a great brother. Looking up to see his face, the smile he made told me it was true.

“Yea, I guess they do.” He said softly. “By the way, those bands things you wear on your wrists, I can’t buy them anywhere, can I? Or are they just a prototype?” He asked, taking my hand even though I wasn’t wearing them. “I’d love to get my sisters some.” 

I laughed once. “I’ll email my brother and see what he can come up with.”

“Let him know that I have money to burn on them.” Rhys joked. I laughed.

“I certainly will.”

We walked in the pub and I followed Rhys to the back corner just like he did at the Dragonfly & the Goat. The back corner must be his default position, because less people walk by you. I sat down and picked up a menu when my phone rang. I sighed, just knowing that it was Lee. I dug out my phone and flipped it open.

“Can I call you later? I’m having dinner with someone.” I said as my way of answering the phone.

“Well, hi there to you too.” Lee said. I rolled my eyes. “Be sure to call me back though, bitch. I want to hear about this someone.” Rhys was watching me on the phone. I could tell him could here what Natalie was saying even over the noise of the bar. I turned away, hiding my face, which was flushing. 

“I promise I’ll call you, hooker.” I told her. We always called each other by crude names, lest we get too lovey-dovey.

“Don’t screw this one up.” She said at me. I pulled the phone away from me and looked at it like I could give her the glare I was giving the phone. I realized that was stupid and put it back to my ear.

“It’s not like that. I gotta go, sis. Love you.” I finished.

“I love you too.” Lee said before hanging up the phone. I snapped my phone close. Testy about how Lee assumed I would screw up every and any relationship I have. I put my phone back in my purse.

“Natalie?” Rhys asked.

“Yea.” I said, looking up from my purse. “Sorry about that.” 

“It’s okay,” he laughed. “You call your sister ‘hooker’?” I picked up the menu again and opened it.

I laughed. “Only when she calls me bitch.” I laughed. 

“Was she just checking up or did she have one of her senses things?” Rhys asked, waving down a waiter. 

“Um, not sure. I guess I’ll find out.” I told him, though I knew that she was calling because of whatever Rhys was going to be to me.

I ordered a Bailey’s coffee and vegetable soup. Rhys got a beer and fish ‘n chips.

“So you guys talk often?” Rhys asked.

I shrugged. “Sometimes. There’ll be a week when we talk three times in one week, but others when we go two weeks without talking. Just depends on what’s going on in our lives.” 

“Ev–” he paused in hesitation. I looked up at him curious. “Eva Hutchson,” he continued, looking at me in a funny way. I nodded, realizing his hesitation. He probably doesn’t mention his famous friends very often in conversation because it reminds people about his celebrity. He also probably didn’t want to inform people about said celebrities’ personal life in case a reporter got wind or something. Eva Hutchinson was another co-star in the Tommy Hatter series. She played Tommy’s other best friend and Rob’s love interest.

“She has two twin half-sisters on her dad’s side. Apparently, they are never apart, ever, and when they went to Uni, they called each other multiple times a day.”

I nodded, a lot of twins get like that, dependent. “Yea, I can understand that. As twins, most of the time, the two of you always share a bedroom until you move out of your parent’s house, and you get used to that attachment. It was really weird when I moved here and couldn’t just roll over in my bed and see Lee in hers. But we both have completely separate lives now.” 

Once again, I felt like we were only talking about me. The waiter came with our drinks. I took at sip enjoying the warm coffee, and I watched Rhys sip his beer. He looked lost in thought.

“You guys were close, weren’t you?” I asked. “You, Eva and David.” The names sound weird on my tongue. I was used to always saying celebrities’ full names. Eva Hutchson, David Bradley, Rhys Grant. 

Rhys nodded. “Yea, we were. We lived on set together for our entire teenage years.” His voice was quiet as he spoke.

“You miss them.” I guessed, reaching out a hand to place over his. “When was the last time you saw either of them?” I asked.

“Christmas. They’re both in America now. Eva’s going to school and Dave’s on Broadway.” Rhys told me. I nodded. I didn’t know if I should ask him more questions about them, or if that would make him sadder, or he might think I’m trying to pump him for information. I settled for keeping a hand on his. The corner of his mouth lifted with his gaze, which met mine.  
We sat together, not talking for a moment when our server came with our food. The waiter looked at Rhys more carefully as he set down the plates. He opened his mouth to say something to Rhys, his eyes alight.

“Do you think I could get a slice of bread with this?” I asked, loudly, jerking the waiter’s gaze to me. I was leaning forward, causing my shirt to slip off a shoulder, so he could see down my blouse. A finger on my lip, and my eyes wide and flirtatious. I licked my upper lip slowly. The waiter’s jaw dropped for a moment before he caught it closed. He cleared his throat.

“Yea, right way.” He said slowly. Then he turned and walked toward the kitchen. I laughed watching him leave. I looked over at Rhys, who was also staring at me in that familiar way. Then he looked down, took a fry off the plate and ate it.

“Thanks,” he said, after he swallowed the fry. “I appreciate the distraction, for him and for me.” He laughed once.

I shrugged. “It looked like he was about to pester you, and his reaction was kind of funny.” 

“Who knew the antidote for fans was a beautiful woman.” Rhys said, joking.

I grinned. “Yes, but that would only work for your fans that are attracted to women.” I pointed out.

“Well anything is something.” He retorted. “But I don’t complain that much. Whatever I go through, its nothing compared to Eva or Dave.” He paused. “E’s a beautiful woman, so she can’t slip under the radar as well as me, and poor Dave is the face of the entire franchise.”

I nodded, knowing what he was saying was true, but not really able to relate. “So your friends I met yesterday, Mark and Alan? Have you always stayed in touch since primary school?” 

“Eh, kinda.” Rhys answered. “I finished high school mostly through independent study, just because it was easier that way. I would hang out with Alan between shooting when I got to go home. We have a lot in common. I’m really not that close to Mark, but he knew me before Hatter took over, so that’s a better start than starting over with someone else.” He answered, then seemed to realize something. “Except you.” He said. I looked up from my soup, wondering that he was thinking.

“Yea?” I asked, wanting him to go on. 

“Yea.” He repeated. “I don’t know why, but you are different.” He paused, looking at me, almost to the point that I felt self-conscious. I waited. “It’s like someone cast an insanity spell on everyone in the world, and you were hiding under a rock or something and it missed you.” We laughed once at his metaphor.

I laughed.

“I never heard the ‘hiding under a rock’ metaphor be used as a positive thing.” I joked.

He chuckled. “I’m an innovator.”

“Must be.” As I was saying that, Rhys’s phone rang. He reached into his pocket and answered it. As he was talking, I waved down the waiter. The guy walked over quickly to see what I wanted. I handed him forty Euros for our meal and a nice tip. He took it, nodding thanks. I looked over to make sure Rhys hadn’t seen. I knew he’d try to pay, and even though he had a lot more money than me, I wasn’t one to take advantage. He’d paid last time, so I was going to pay this time. On dates, I rarely let a guy pay for me, or if he did, I always made sure I paid next time. 

Not that this was a date. 

Guys paying for meals was a gender role that is prosaic, in my opinion.

I ate my soup in silence as Rhys talked. It sounded like he was arranging an interview or something. After a minute, he hung up. 

“Sorry about that.” He mumbled as he put his phone away. 

“That’s okay. It was your turn anyway.” I said, since Lee had called me earlier.

“That was my publicist.” He told me. “I have to go to London in two weeks for an interview on some show.” I nodded.

“That’s right. The film is coming out this summer, so you’ll probably have lots of publicity stuff to do.” I commented.

He sighed. “Yea, the London premiere is in a little less than two months. Then I’m sure I’ll have to go to LA and New York for shows for the entire month before.”

“Do you enjoy it?” I asked, curious whether it was fun for him or more of a chore.

He shrugged. “The premiere is fun because I get to see all my mates and see the movie finished and cut, but I don’t really like doing the interviews after a while because I get asked the same ten questions over and over again.” 

I laughed. “You should give your interviewers a list of questions you will refuse to answer because they’ve been over used.” I paused. “The funny thing is that you could probably do absolutely no interviews or publicity at all and the box offices would still be overloaded with people wanting to see the final Tommy Hatter movie, I know I would.” 

He laughed once and nodded. “You’re probably right.”

“Are you looking forward to getting it over with or will you be sad after the movie comes out to theatres?” I wondered. Rhys leaned back against the wall and sighed looking at me, finished with his food. 

“I dunno. It’s kind of bittersweet, I guess. I’ll miss seeing my mates all the time. This is some of the longest amount of time that I’ve spent away from the cast and crew for the past ten and a half years. But at the same time, I can’t wait to do something else, be someone else, and get away from the Rob Woodley character for a while.” I just nodded, watching him. Looking at Rhys, I could see Rob in him, but only when he was still. When he talked or laughed, I saw someone else. I saw Rhys. If anyone spent much time with him, they would be a fool not to understand that Rhys is not Rob. I hadn’t realized it, but I’d been staring at Rhys. He shifted uneasily. 

I bent my head down and laughed, embarrassed. “Sorry.” I said. “I was just thinking.”

“About anything in particular?” He asked, leaning towards me, his elbows on the table.

“Not really.” I shook my head. But the look on Rhys’s face was disbelieving. “I just was noticing how when your face is still, I can see you as Rob. But when you talk or show any emotion, your mannerisms and speech rhythm aren’t Rob at all. You just, you know, look like you.” I laughed, shrugging.

Rhys laughed to showing his white teeth. 

“Thanks, I guess. I appreciate that.”

I cracked a smile and shrugged. I looked down at his plate. 

“You finished?” I asked.

He nodded. 

“You?” When I nodded, he looked out for our waiter. “Then let’s get the check.”

“I already took care of it.” I waved off, standing up, grabbing my purse. He did a double-take, looking at me funnily.

“What? When?” He said, a confused smile on his face. He stood slowly. Almost like he didn’t believe me.

“When you were on the phone.” I said, sweetly, laughing at my triumph. I knew that if the waiter had brought the bill I wouldn’t have been able to snag it from him.

Rhys shook his head, smiling though. He followed me out of the restaurant. “Well, thanks for dinner, then.” He said, appreciative.

“You’re welcome.” I said back. “Thanks for the tickets to your show. I really enjoyed it. You made a wonderful Lysander, hopelessly in love works for you.” I joked.

He laughed hearty at that. “Thanks.”

We were walking back to the theatre where we’d parked. The streets were less crowded with cars, but there were a lot of people out walking around in the area. I stayed close to Rhys. My heels clopped on the sidewalk, which made me uncomfortable knowing that it was a clear heads-up to anyone in an alleyway looking for a person to sneak up on. Groups of drunken people passed us, sometimes ignoring us, sometimes not. I palmed my knuckles, wishing I felt the leathery straps on them. Rhys noticed my habit.

He took my right hand in his. 

“You’re fine.” He said in a calm voice. I think he was surprised by my angst. I knew rationally that I would probably be fine, but I couldn’t help worry. Past experiences had made me overly cautious. 

When we got to the parking lot by the theatre, Rhys walked me to my car. He noticed the dent that was still there and hissed. 

“I’m gonna go tomorrow and drop it off at Liam’s shop and get my friend Shona to drive me to work and Liam will pick me up in it after work. I didn’t have time this week to get it done.”

He chagrined. “Well, just have Liam send me the bill, do you still have the card I gave you?”

“I do.” I nodded. It was in my wallet. I stood there, rocking from my heels to my toes for a moment in silence.

I looked at Rhys and we both grinned at the same time. Neither of us wanted to leave, but had nothing else to say.

“Let me give you my number.” I said, finally. Rhys stuck his hand in his pocket to get his phone. “We should do this again.”

“Definitely.” Rhys agreed. I read out my number and he saved it in his phone. He put his phone back in his pocket, blowing out a breath pushing his bangs off his forehead for a moment. Then a look flashed across his face. 

“Don’t forget to call your sister back.” He pointed at me, reminding. 

I rolled my eyes. 

“If she really needs to talk, she’ll call back.” I brushed off. I wasn’t sure I was ready to share my new friend with Lee, yet. Rhys, looked at me, and raised an eyebrow. The message was clear. I sighed. “I’ll call her when I get home.” I said, like a child who knew they had to do better.

He smiled. “Good.” Then leaned in to hug me. I met his hug, and rest my head on his chest for a beat. I pulled away.

“Good Night.” I said, as Rhys took a step away.

“Night.” Rhys said, turning his head back to me, the corner of his mouth turned up.

Twenty minutes later, when I got home, my sound jingled. I took my phone out of my bag and read.

**Its Rhys. Sweet Dreams.**

I made sure to save the number before returning the sentiment.


	6. Carpool

Before I left to go to Liam’s shop to drop my car off, I double-checked that I had my hand bands on. I was bartending tonight. When I pulled my car up to the garage at Auto Cruiser, Shona was already there to take me to work. She and Liam were leaning against the wall of the shop shooting the breeze, as we say in the South. Liam and Shona went to high school together. Shona and Blane introduced us to each other when I first got to town.

I went over, kissed Liam hello and goodbye, and Shona took me to work. My shift started at three and I’d get off at nine. I had double-checked that Liam remembered before we left the shop, because he was picking me up and tended to forget tiny details like times and dates. 

It worked out for Shona gave me a ride because she had to come by anyway to pick up her paycheck. I waved to Blane, who I was relieving, on my way to Roal’s office to grab my apron and drop off my purse. 

I didn’t mind bartending in the afternoon. The tips weren’t as good, but it was much less rowdy. The guys at the bar would be watching the soccer games, football to them, or some Rugby match, which was nice since it gave them something to think about other than me. 

I was wearing a black, crew-neck knit tank top and my usual black denim jeans, so I had no cleavage to worry about as I leaned over to drop off a drink. I also always made sure to wear my platform boots when I bartended because it made reaching over the bar so much easier. I’m not short exactly at five foot seven, but a few extra inches makes a difference.

Around seven-thirty, my phone buzzed. I had it in my back pocket, but didn’t answer it. No need to give Roal a reason to yell at me. When there was a bit of a lull in the orders, I found Roal, and told her I was taking my five-minute break. Getting out my phone, I saw Liam had left a voicemail saying that he was missing a part for my car and needed to order it. On top of that, he said that his boss from The Tunnel called and needed him to fill in tonight, which meant I needed to find another way home. I sank into a chair, disappointed and frustrated. I couldn't be mad, because Liam needed the shifts, but this happened a lot and it was trying. 

With my five minutes about up, I went back out to the bar to discover I had a mob of antsy drinkers. After I saw to their needs, I waved down Kay, who was one of the only people at work who was friendly towards me, other than Blane and Shona. The other girls resented me for being American, I think. _Go figure._ Anyways, I told her of my predicament and asked if she could give me a ride. Unfortunately, to my surprise, Kay didn’t have a car. She rode the bus to and from work, which I found quite daring, seeing how she often worked the late night shifts.

So I went back to my work and thought. After considering my various options, I decided to call Rhys, taking another break, but this time using the bathroom as my excuse.

“Hello?” I heard his deep, lightly scratchy voice.

“Hi, it’s Anna.” I said, almost in a tone of apology.

“Hey,” he said, sounding happy. “How’s it going?”

“Fine.” I said like I was asking a question. I paused. I was nervous about asking him for a favor, though I wasn’t sure why.

“What cha doin?” I asked, like I had no other purpose for calling than to chat.

“I had a matinee show today, but no night show, so I just woke up from a nap about half an hour ago.” He answered. I could tell he was waiting for my purpose calling. He sounded considerably less happy that he did when he first answered.

“Can I ask for a favor?” I asked. My eyes squinting at my lack of tact.

“You can ask.” He qualified, unsure.

I explained my situation, how Liam got tied up at work and Kay didn’t have a car. 

“Do you think you could pick me up from work?” I asked. “It’s okay, if, you know, you have something to do.”

He laughed. It was a relieved sound.

“Yea,” he said, lightly. “It is, after all, my fault you’re in this situation in the first place.”

“Oh,” I realized he was right. “Great! I mean…cool.”

“What time do you get off?” He asked, practically.

“Nine.” I answered.

“Then I’ll see you at nine.” 

I worked the rest of my shift on autopilot. None of my regular drunkards were in tonight, so I didn’t have many customers to chat with that weren’t trying to get in my pants. I had to pound my fist on a guy’s inner wrist when I put a drink up and he grabbed my arm and wouldn’t let go. He gasped and let go immediately. As he clutched his arm in pain, I noticed, as if on cue, Rhys walked in a few minutes before nine. He cracked a smile for me, and then examined my harasser. The grabber might be handsome if he ever lost his beer gut and didn’t have that stupid, drunk expression plastered on his face. Giving the guy a quick, cold glance, Rhys came a sat at the bar. 

“Hey you.” I smiled, picking up a cloth and wiping up a spot where some foam spilled over.

“Hi. Rough night?” He asked, eyes darting to the grabber guy. He was still clutching his wrist and his friends were chuckling. 

“Nah, nothing more than usual.” I answered, and it wasn’t. One of the reasons Roal puts me behind the bar when Blane or Sid can’t make it is because she knows I can handle myself. We don’t have a bouncer and have never needed one. There’s a bat behind the bar if it’s needed, and there’s a big guy, Geoff, in the kitchen if I can’t handle a situation. 

“I’ll be a few more minutes.” I told Rhys. “Can I get you anything while you wait?” I asked. He shook his head. 

Sid was coming in after me, taking the late shift. I finished wiping down the counter, so he wouldn’t get suck with my mess and the mess yet to be made. I was untying my half apron when Sid’s tall body brushed pass me tying his.

“I’m off.” I told him. “The guy clutching his wrist over there,” I indicated with my head, Sid’s gray eyes followed that direction. “He doesn’t get anymore liquor. Just beer for him.” I told him. We always filled each other in on the status of our customers. Sid nodded, then looked at me. 

“Do I owe him any particular courtesies?” He asked, brows raised. I knew that he really meant discourtesies. By now, Sid knew what it meant if any of my male customers were clutching any particular part of their body.

“I took care of it.” I answered, with my sweet Southern smile. Sid smiled too, looking charmed.

“Alright then, you head off.” He bent to kiss me on my temple. He wasn’t a great friend, but I noticed that Scottish men with were easily endeared by me. Not so much the women, who generally kept me at arms’ length, except Shona.

“Thanks. Hope you have an easy night!” I wished and walked down to the end of the bar where Rhys was. He watched me heading towards him. I slipped under the bar flap and stopped in front of him. I sighed dramatically and put an elbow on the bar, my head in my hand.

“Ready to go?” He asked, eyebrows raised. 

I laughed as Rhys stood. 

“How could you tell?” I joked. “Thanks again for this.” I lead the way toward the exit.

“No problem.” He said genuinely. 

I glanced back and saw that he was ducking his head down with his red hair brushed over his face. I almost laughed, realizing he was trying to hide his face from folks in the bar. Deciding to help instead of laugh, I stepped in front of him to help shield him. Reaching the door, I held it open for Rhys. 

He led me to the left. The dimly lit street had parking all along each side. Looking up ahead, I wondered where he’d parked that damn ice cream truck. There were clusters of people walking from pub to pub, so I couldn’t see very far up the street.

“I hope I didn’t mess up any plans you had.” I said, shifting to the other side of the street for the signature truck.

“Nah, I was just planning on staying in, doing laundry and such.” He brushed off. 

“Oh, good.” I answered lamely. Rhys slowed down and walked towards a car. I stared at it, then moved to the back to get the full effect. The backside said Invicta S1. It was a charcoal sports car, two-seater, big bonnet, little boot, as the Brits would say. It was sleek, shiny, and very impressive. I slowed to stop at the curb when Rhys beeped the doors unlocked from the driver’s side door. He looked at me. 

“This is not an ice-cream truck.” I finally said. I took a step to the car. I opened the door, which opened diagonally upward. Not exactly like a Lamborghini, but somewhere in between that and a normal car. But as I opened it, I saw why. The car was slow low to the ground that the bottom of door would’ve scraped against the curb if it had opened straight out horizontally. 

I was nervous to sit down on the buttery leather, fearing I must have some dirt or beer foam somewhere on my body that would ruin the seat. I heard Rhys chuckle as I slowly sat down on the soft, smooth leather seat. It was dark inside the car. The windows were slightly more tinted than most cars, but not extremely so. The interior of the car was black, silver and a deep warm green. 

“Well, I’m impressed.” I said bluntly. I don’t know much about cars, but still I was impressed.

“Yea.” Rhys started. I think he was impressed by his car too. “The ice-cream truck doesn’t get good mileage and I converted this one to run on biodiesel, so I usually drive this.” He explained.

“Well, I’m really glad you weren’t driving this a week ago.” I said, laughing.

“It probably would’ve been fine if I had though. I’d like to see you try and scratch the paint on this guy.” He challenged, smiling proudly. He turned the key. I heard a beautiful whisper of a purr. Rhys pulled out onto the street. We were silent for a few minutes as Rhys drove. The radio was on at a low volume. It was Celtic Rock.

In the silence, I thought of something. “Can I ask you something?” I started.

“Sure,” Rhys answered, openly.

“When I called you on the phone earlier, you started out sounding happy. Then you seemed to get colder and a bit apathetic, and then you sounded happy again. What –” I stopped to rephrase. “Did I say something wrong?” I asked concerned. I watched Rhys, who was watching the road. He slowed as we approached a red light.

“No, you didn’t.” He answered, glancing at me, then looked down at the dashboard. He went on. “When you first called, I was expecting something different. I’ve had a lot of people try and become friends with me and then pretend like they just remembered a screenplay they’d written and wondered if I knew someone they could give it to, or just realized they had a passion for acting too and wanted to meet my agent, or other various versions of the same thing. Using me as a tool, not genuinely interested in being my friend.” He explained. The light turned green, and he looked forward, pushing the gas. “When you started making small talk and said you had a favor to ask, I was expecting something that.” He sounded sad and weary. I reached out and put my hand on Rhys’s left arm, which was relaxed by his side. 

“I’m sorry that those things happen to you.” I said quietly. I paused. 

“Can I tell you something?” I said in a leading voice. He grinned a little. 

“Sure.”

“I sincerely have no interest in a career with screenwriting, or acting, or really anything that involves moviemaking.” I told him, smiling. He did too. “As of right now, I want to own a farm with sheep and alpaca, and grow bamboo. I want to produce organic, naturally dyed textiles for apparel. So unless you’ve had a secret life for the last ten years, I really don’t think that you would have many connections for me in those areas.” I joked. He laughed. 

“No. I’m sorry to disappoint. I don’t know anything about that.” He mock-apologized. After a beat, he said, “So you want to live on a farm?” He asked, genuinely surprised. I laughed at his astonishment.

“Well, at least for part of the year.” I answered. “I want to own all levels of production, vertical integration, so I know my product isn’t significantly damaging the planet. I want be able to shear the animals and ret the bamboo and spin the fibers into yarn, which will be woven into fabric, which will be dyed naturally, without dumping chemicals into water sources, then sell it to designers so that it can be used in apparel.” I explained. “Essentially. But that’s just my dream. I’ll probably be satisfied working at similar companies and work to expand them.”

“That’s a noble goal.” He commented. “I didn’t know you could make clothes out of bamboo.” 

That, of course, got me started. I can talk for hours about bamboo, hemp, wool, silk. I am a total textile nerd. I paused every once and a while to make sure Rhys wasn’t bored or just being polite, but he seemed genuinely interested in my opinions about the harmful pesticides that sheep are covered with before they are sheared, among other things. I guess growing up in Great Britain, he’s used to seeing sheep everywhere, but he doesn’t really know much about any of it. Our textile conversation lasted us until Rhys pulled up to my apartment. When he shifted into park, our conversation stopped. I heard the faint music from his radio.

“Is that satellite radio?” I asked. I’d enjoyed the music. I love Celtic music and I love rock, but the combination was genius.

“No, it’s my iTunes. I downloaded into my car.” I nodded, impressed.

“I like it.” I told him. “Do you know any places around here that play good music? I haven’t been around much since I’ve been working and going to school.” He nodded. 

“Yea, I know of a few local bands that play around here. We should go hear them sometime.” He suggested.

“I’d like that.” I told him, putting my hand on the door handle. 

“Call me about it?” I asked. “I can ask for particular nights off.” I told him. 

“Sure.” He said. I opened my door and put a foot out. 

“Hey Anna,” he called out. I got out and bent to look at him. “D’you call your sister last night?” He asked, remembering my promise to call Lee. I knew he would scold me if I hadn’t.

“I did.” I nodded. “But she was in a movie theatre and couldn’t talk.” I smiled. I don’t think he knew that I wasn’t ready to talk to her about Rhys, but he seemed to sense my reluctance. 

“Hm.” He hummed. “You should try her again. You’re lucky to have a sister who you’re so close to.” He gave me a look that made me feel guilty. I sighed because he was right.

“I know I am. I’ll try her again.” I agreed. “Good Night.” 

“Night.” He waved. 

I shut the door and he drove off. I dug out the hide-a-key from under a loose brick on the steps, and let myself into my dark, empty house.


	7. The Fight

The next week went by fast. Classes were a breeze at this point in the term. We just had our mid-terms and our finals weren’t for a month and a half, so I was cruising through them. Lee never called me back and I didn’t call her. Liam had come by early on Sunday to drop my car off, safe and sound. Rhys stopped by the bar on Tuesday to say hello, which made me very happy. On Friday, Rhys came in with Alan and took a meal. They were off to watch a football game on Rhys’s big screen. Before he left, he told me about a concert of a band he liked that was happening next Thursday. He’d call me early in the week to make plans. As I was leaving that night, I made sure to tell Roal that I would need Thursday off. 

Another week went by. Liam had been busier than usual, so I had more free time than usual, but I didn’t really mind. I was getting accustomed to seeing Rhys at the Dragonfly & the Goat, which meant that my thoughts were more preoccupied and therefore didn’t notice Liam’s absence so acutely.

On Thursday, Rhys swung by and picked me up. The concert venue was a low-lit warehouse. The band consisted of a harp, an assortment of drums, a bass, a guitar, a bag-pipe, and a few other woodwind instruments that I didn’t recognize. The band members all played well. Watching them from song to song was a lot like watching musical chairs; literally, they all played every instrument. It was fun listening to Rhys explain the band’s background as they plays. Rhys’s warm, deep voice whispered in my ear, fighting the loud music background, which gave me a constant tingle down my spine. I really loved a deep, male voice whispering in my ear. The band’s songs varied from ones that inspired jumping and fist pumping to slow, swaying ballads. For those, I would give Rhys a half-hug and rock side to side with him.

It was a fun night, we talked, we listened, and we danced. I was tired by the time I got home, which was around two. Giving Rhys my usual double-cheek kiss goodnight, I dragged myself inside. 

 

Thank goodness that my art school didn’t hold classes on Friday, because I slept until four in the afternoon. My shift today started at nine so I had plenty of time to get ready. I showered, making sure to get the pot smoke out of my hair, and shaved my legs. After I got dressed, I made sure I wore my wristbands. I was bartending tonight, for the late shift.

A few minutes before nine, I walked in to the Dragonfly & the Goat. I saw Blane, who looked relieved to see me. Looking at him, I could tell he was beat. I walked around the bar to put on my hip-apron. Blane walked over to me, pointing out five guys that he had cut-off. No more drinks for them. He showed me three other guys that were only on beer now. I could understand his exhaustion if that many customers were smashed before nine o’clock. I nodded, repeating his words back to him, and Blane looked happy to leave.

The late night was better than I expected. The five guys that had been cut-off were eventually ushered away by their friends. This meant that by eleven the bar was half empty. Around midnight, some more people came in, but they weren’t being rowdy. Half an hour later was last call. After that, I just set about getting water to those who needed it and cleaned up.

Quarter after one, I was walking out the door. Tired. I got in my car and drove home on autopilot. When I got home, I didn’t nervously look around. I just walked right through my door and locked it. Dropping my bag in a chair, I just wanted to get in bed and sleep. I opened my bedroom door and froze.

I blinked once, thinking my eyes were broken.

“WHAT THE FUCK?” I shout. All I see is Liam, naked, and Shona, _my friend_ , naked. In MY fucking bed. I took two steps, staring a Liam, but pointing at Shona. “Get the FUCK out of here!” 

I crossed my arms and flip the switch on the battery pack. My wristbands stood out on my hands, hardened like fiberglass. I vaguely heard Shona scrambling with clothes. Liam stood up out of the bed hands out stretched. 

I just swung my right hand up a slammed the back of my hand up at his face. Liam’s head rocked to the side, but straightened quickly. Then, I hooked my left hand in at his jaw, aiming up more than from the side. Liam dodged my fist, softening the blow. My right hand swung around and hooked to land squarely at the top of his shoulder where his tendons met bone. Liam reached out and caught my right hand holding me away from his body so my arms couldn’t reach. I reached to my nightstand and picked up a wooden candlestick and swung that out toward his head. Liam caught that hand after it struck his brow and shook it, so I would drop it. Before I released it, it knocked into the spot my nose and eyebrow meet. The foot of the wooden candlestick was finely carves in a way that left me bleeding. Seeing this, Liam immediately dropped my hands. I just turned and ran out.

I grabbed my purse before exiting my apartment. I sat on the steps, catching my breath. After about a minute, I pulled out my cell phone.

I punched a number. I listened to the evenly spaced ringing tones, trying to slow my breath.

“Hello?” He answered, groggily. It was close to two o’clock after all.

“Can you come get me?” I asked, trying hard to keep my voice calm, but I knew my voice was cracking from the panic and the pain from my brow.

“’Course, why?” Rhys knew my voice and knew something was very wrong. I heard shuffling of sounds, presumably him getting out of bed. 

“I just fought with Liam and I don’t want to stay in my house tonight.”

“On my way.” He said, and clicked off.

I sat on the steps, knowing that Liam was still in the apartment. He knew I would not want to see him. I pressed my hand on the cut on my head, trying to staunch the flow of blood. It was kind of gross, but I didn’t want to go inside and get a paper towel. My hand was bloody. I looked at my pants. They were old and dark. I wiped my hand off on them and replaced my hand on my head again.

Ten minutes later, I saw Rhys’s car down the road and stood, removing my hand and wiping the blood away. I walked to the curb so I could hop in without him stopping. He stops the car and looks at me through the car window. His face darkened as his eyes inspected my face. Throwing the car into park, he storms out the car and is in front of me before I can process what was happening.

“He still here?” Rhys asked, fuming. His eyes were on my front door and windows, scanning for Liam. He was standing about a foot in front of me and the rage emanating from him was palpable. He was furious. I must I look a lot worse than I originally thought. I didn’t answer him as I turned my head away from him to wipe the clotting blood on my jeans again.

“Where is he?” Rhys said, moving between me and the house, walking toward the apartment. I jumped in front of him and pressed both hands flat against his chest to stop him.

“It’s not what you think. Really.” I told him. Rhys slowed to a stop, muttering to himself. He took hold of the hand on his chest that I’d used to staunch the bleeding and held it in both hands, not caring that I’d unintentionally left gross blood smears on his t-shirt.

Behind me, the door opened. Stepping closer to Rhys, I turned slowly. Liam was standing there, bleeding from his shoulder and right cheekbone. His jaw was red and swollen. There was another big welt on his eyebrow. Part of me felt satisfied to see the damage I’d done, but another slightly larger part of me felt sick at the way I’d handled everything. I had used my defensive tools to inflict retribution on a person who had not attacked me physically. I was no better than a man who hit his girlfriend. Growing nauseous, I turned to Rhys, pushing him to the car. He was still staring at Liam, but this time with his eyebrows raised. For a fleeting second, his eyes flickered to my hands where the bands were still activated, and there were bits on them that had once been attached to Liam. He looked to me, then.

“Please, let’s just go.” I pleaded. My voice broke, making me furious for being weak in front of Liam. I wasn’t sure if my emotional response was from the fight, the cheating, or the shame of hitting another person.

Rhys finally looked away from Liam to me. Registering the desperation in my eyes, he simple nodded and led me back to his car.

I didn’t speak in the car. I just tried to relax in the seat and to keep the blood smears on my jeans from touching the seat. Thankfully, the cut on my head had stopped bleeding, though there was dried blood covering my hands and forearms; head wounds really did bleed a lot.

Rhys complied with my unspoken wish to not talk right now. He parked in a garage near his apartment and let me through a door. We walked up a flight of stairs and were met with another door. Rhys fished out his keys and opened it. I followed behind him.

His apartment was full of yellow-beiges, dark browns and whites. There were a few touches of green like a blanket on the sofa and the pots in his kitchen. The space looked like it had once been two floors but the second floor was knocked out except for one loft space. That meant the ceiling was very high and every once and a while there was a tall column or bean for support. You first walk into a hallway with two doors off of it, then enter a living room with a brown sofa and wood floors. Behind is a kitchen and above the kitchen is a loft, which was probably Rhys’s bedroom. I looked to the right and saw stairs leading up to it. 

Rhys walked into his kitchen, which had counters in a U-shape with an island in the middle. He went to the fridge and got ice, he put some in a bag and handed it to me. I finally flipped the switches off on my bands. I undid the buckle and took them off, realizing my knuckles were sore. The ice felt good on them. Rhys then went to a cabinet and got out a first-aid kit. He walked over to me.

Rhys patted the counter politely, telling me to hop up. Once again respecting my wish to not talk. He got a hydrogen peroxide wipe and cleaned my cut. I changed hands with my ice and closed my eyes.

“He was sleeping with my friend, Shona. In my apartment.” I said, voice quietly moderated. I did not open my eyes. But after a silent moment, I did.

Rhys made no expression, but his eyes had darkened. He tossed the wipe and found polysporin.

“It’s not like I was in love with him.” I started. “I’m totally not. But we were compatible, and that’s hard for me to find.” 

I saw a flash of curiosity in his eyes and then it was suppressed.

“Go sit down,” Rhys said gently, indicating the sofa. He offered me a hand as I hopped down. I walked over and sat in the middle of the brown sofa, finding it very cozy. Rhys sat down beside me. He turned toward me, forearms on his knees.

“It’s okay, you know.” He said, quietly. I was confused. It was clear he was talking about me, not my situation.

“What?” I asked, facing him too. He was solemn, in a very caring way.

“It’s okay to not always be tough when shit happens.” He said this, and it was like popping a balloon. He hit me nail on the head. Lee always said that about me, too.

I just looked at Rhys, and suddenly tears were falling down my cheeks. His expression softened. He was not a man that was scared of tears, maybe having three younger sisters had cured him of that. He just put his arm around me and held me against his side, leaning us back to rest against the sofa.


	8. Day Off

I opened my eyes in confusion. 

It took me a second to understand where I was. Light was streaming through a wall made of windows to my right. My head rested on Rhys’ chest, rocking with the soothing rhythm of his breathing. Last night I fell asleep with Rhys’ right arm wrapped around me. This morning his hand had somehow slid down to my bum. My left hand was resting quite innocently on Rhys’s chest. The shirt he was wearing was very soft, though, and, unconsciously, my hand smoothed down his chest to his stomach, noting the feel of the shirt as well as the muscles beneath. I was surprised how muscular Rhys was. He is attractive, sure, but he isn’t one of those movie actors that pumps iron everyday. He’s the typical ‘male best friend’ character, who is there more for charm and wit than eye candy.

Curious, I grazed my hand back up his chest to feel his pecs. After a second of hesitation, I circled my thumb over his nipple through his shirt. I swallowed a giggle, feeling naughty. Still tired, though, I closed my eyes and snuggled back into the comfort of being held by Rhys. 

After what felt like about five minutes of dozing, I sighed to myself unable to truly go back to sleep. I sat up on my knees and leaned over to kiss Rhys on the cheek before getting up. As soon as I had kissed him, though, I felt a little spank on my bum. I yelped in surprise, sitting up on my knees as warmth shot through my body. I sincerely doubted Rhys knew how much my kinky self enjoyed a simple pat like that.

Rhys was grinning, but his eyes were still closed. 

“It’s not polite to take advantage of a sleeping man.” He croaked, his voice full of sleep. He opened his eyes and sat up, but I was already up and walking to the kitchen. I wondered if he was referring to the kiss, or if he’d been awake longer than that.

I just laughed in response. 

“Shall I put on some tea?” I asked, looking around for a teapot.

“Aye.” Rhys said, groggily stretching his arms, trying to wake up. I laughed at his use of the Gaelic term.

I found a tea kettle and filled it at the sink. As I put it on to boil, I heard Rhys stand up. As he walked over, his head life and looked at me. Then his face grew angry, and his hands fisted at his side.

“I’m gonna fuckin’ kill ’im.” He growled, looking at my face. For a second, I just looked at him, then, realizing his words were in response to the state of my face, I scanned the room for a mirror.

I found one. 

“Fuck.” I groaned. My left eyebrow and the left side of my nose and pretty much everywhere in between were black and blue. 

“I can’t go to work like this.” I imagined showing up to work with everybody staring. 

Then I realized. 

“Fuck. Shona is gonna be at work.” My eyes scrunched trying to hold back tears, which hurt my bruise. I sank to my elbows on the counter, chin on my fists.

“Ow,” I jerked up. My fists were sore from the punches I’d thrown. Looking at them, they were a bit swollen but otherwise fine. Desperate to find a position that didn’t hurt, I turned around and sank to the floor back against the cabinets. Rhys walked around to sit next to me, putting a hand on my knee.

Then, my phone rang. Groaning, I stand up and went to my purse that was in a chair and answered the phone, already knowing who it was.

“Hello?” I answered, sounding perky. Rhys stood too, and looked at me, concerned.

“Haha, nice try. Spill.” Lee demanded. She knew something was wrong.

“Hey! You’ll never guess who I’ve made friends with,” I ignored her comments, now I had a perfect diversion to talking about what she wanted to talk about. “Rhys fucking Grant.” I said, making a smiling grimace at Rhys, who rolled his eyes. He knew what I was doing too.

“What?” Lee said, quietly calm.

“No really.” I said, insisting, trying to make her think that her intuition was wrong. Things were good, not bad. My sister always had to cope with the bad things in my life.

“Not unh.” She said, disbelieving.

“For real.” I continued.

“Then let me talk to him.” She said, thinking she’d caught me. 

“Ha!” I said in the phone, triumphant.

I pulled the phone away from my ear and covered the mouthpiece.

“It’s Lee, she wants to talk to you.” My expression was questioning, so he knew he had a choice. He nodded, saying it was okay, though he did look impatient with me. Then I mouthed, _Don’t mention last night._

Rhys took my phone, raising an eyebrow at me. I don’t think that was an agreement. Sighing, I just sat down, watching him.

“Hey, Lee. This is Rhys.” He said, warmly. “Nice to talk to you, Lee. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

He laughed and I knew Lee would know his voice. He paused as she spoke. Then he looked confused for a second, then surprised.

“Yeah,” he said slowly. Then his shoulders dropped. I hadn’t realized they’d been tensed. “They fought.” He said, casting a look to me. I realized I didn’t begrudge him blabbing on me because it meant I didn’t have to say it. “No, I mean _literally._ They fought.”

I almost cracked a grin. 

“He gave her a black eye.” He said, fuming. My urge to grin faded.

Then, the corner of his mouth twitched, trying to keep from laughing. “Bloody dreadful. Bleeding shoulder, cheek, swollen jaw.” He listed, turning around to face me again. “It’s those bloody wristbands of hers.” He said, awe in his voice this time. He laughed once this time.

Then his expression changed. I assumed that so too had the topic of conversation.

“Not long, a few weeks.” He said, obviously answering the question of when we met. Then he froze, and glanced at me quickly. Something Lee said made him nervous. His eyebrows twitched together once. I was studying him carefully.

“Well,” he started, then paused listening. His eyes turned to me, looking serious. “Something like that.” He sounded wistful, turning away so he wasn’t facing me. It was my turn to bring my eyebrows together. I didn’t follow the conversation from his words. I can bet that was done on purpose. My sister seemed to have a lot to say to Rhys. He turned and leaned against the refrigerator, looking at me again.

Then his eyebrows rose and his eyes bugged out a little bit.

“Yea?” He asked, laughing once. It was a nervous, uncomfortable laugh. 

“That’s interesting.” He said. This time looking at me directly. I was the uncomfortable one, now. I was sure that Lee was talking about me.

“I’ll – uh – I’ll try.” His voice broke a little bit as he said that. I heard my sister’s unmistakable laugh. I crossed my arm and put on a pouty face, and feeling a little left out. Rhys’s face softened as he looked at me, though he was amused.

He laughed once. “Nice to talk to you too.” He said. I sat up, holding my hand out for my phone. “Uh, ok.” He sounded unsure, then handed me the phone. “It’s your turn.”

I put it to my ear. “Have a nice chat?” I asked, sounding like a seven year old.

“Yea.” She said, sweetly. “He’s crazy about you. I can tell.” 

I laughed, trying to not make it sound nervous. “The things you come up with...” Rhys was turning around, checking the teapot.

“I knew something happened last night, and over the past weeks.” She told me, as if that was proof.

“Of course you did.” I said it like she’d said that she breathed oxygen this morning.

“You should give the guy a break. Just because he’s not Scottish, and happens to be a nice, good, and caring, _and famous_ , guy, doesn’t mean that he’d not your type.” She pressed. 

“Ouy-ay on’t-day eve-nay ow-knay im-hay. It-ay isn’t-ay ike-lay at-ay.” I switched to Pig Latin, which Lee and I were fluent in. I hoped that the predominance of Pig Latin knowledge in elementary schools didn’t extend to Great Britain. I was satisfied by the confused expression from Rhys, who was turning to look at me. I grinned at him.

“Oh, very mature, Anna.” Lee scolded. “You should listen to what I’m saying, you know I’m making sense.” 

“I-ay on’t-day eed-nay ot-ay ink-thay about-ay at-ay ight-ray ow-nay. Ok?” I pressed. Rhys shook his head, dismissing my funny behavior and got out the teacups.

She sighed. “At least explain your issues to him, so he’ll know why you’re so messed up.”

“Gee, thanks. I love you too.” I said disparagingly. I switched to English since it didn’t matter to me if Rhys heard that. “I-ay ill-way ink-thay it-ay ove-ray, appy-hay?” I asked, switching back again.

“Good,” she stated, satisfied.

“Love you.” I said, genuinely.

“I love you.” She hung up. 

I put the phone down on the counter. “Sorry about that.” I said, watching Rhys get milk and sugar.

“It’s okay.” He said. “She’s something.” He commented, which made me laugh.

“Yep.” I agreed.

“What was that you were speaking?” He asked. He really didn’t know, which made me feel more comfortable. He handed me a cup of tea, he knew I took one sugar.

I laughed. “Pig Latin. Ever heard of it?” I asked.

“Never.” He answered.

“It must just be something that all American nine year olds learn.” I joked. “So what’d Lee say to you?” I asked casually, looking up at him from behind my teacup. The hot tea felt good moving down my throat, warming me.

Rhys smiled knowingly. “Not a chance.” He said, laughing. He knew that I knew that they were talking about me and I’m pretty sure he knew that my Pig Latin segment had been about him and both of us knew that the other wouldn’t talk about what we had been talking about.

I laughed at him bemused expression. He was probably thinking the same convoluted thing as me.

“So what do you want to do today?” He asked.

I called in sick to Roal while Rhys took a shower. He showed me his guest bathroom and I showered too, putting on the same clothes, which wasn’t totally satisfying, but it was better than no shower. After that, I asked Rhys to just drive out of town, anywhere as long as there weren’t many people. He obliged. I asked him about his show, and whether he had to get back, and he said that he was gradually phasing out so his understudy could get acquainted with the role before Rhys had to go on his publicity tour before the movie premiere, which was a little over two months away. We drove through the fields of sheep and heather. Rhys was clearly entertained by my fascination with the environment. I tried to explain why I loved fields and meadows. The appeal of the expanse of land untainted by industry, the romantic scenes that played through my head from Jane Austen or Bronte books as I watches the tall grasses. 

Around lunchtime, we stopped at a pub in a little hamlet. The pub-keeper was giving Rhys some nasty glares and I realized it was because of my shiner. I let Rhys pay since I paid last time. He got a kick out of it when I told him that. I wasn’t sure if it was because he wasn’t used to women paying for things, or if it was because he wasn’t used to other people paying for things since he got his _Tommy Hatter_ money. 

Instead of going back to the car, I followed a path that I saw. It was in between a small patch of woods and a field. Rhys only grew more surprised by me as I led him through the trail. When I got tired, I sat on a rock that stuck up out of the earth. Rhys laid down on the rock beside me. The sun was out for now. I had a light knit jacket on and was very comfortable. I could see some clouds in the distance.

“I never spend much time outside anymore.” I commented. “I always loved to, but going to art school kept me inside working a lot. Now I sometimes purposefully park my car away from school so I can walk through pretty streets, and that’s about as good as I’ve gotten in a long while. It’s such a shame when there’s so much of it out here.” I watched the winds flow across the grass, the blades bending and whipping about. 

“My brother and I used to go hiking in the woods and camp out.” He told me, his eyes were looking at the clouds, squinting from the sunlight. “Last time we went was last summer.”

“I love camping, but never seem to do it anymore. Too busy living a life, though not necessarily the one I want.” I said, almost to myself.

“What do you want for your life?” Rhys asked.

“If I knew, then I’d be living it, eh?” I asked, once again, to myself.

“I guess so.” He conceded, but then countered with, “Unless you knew what you want but not how to get it, eh?” 

A drop fell on my forehead and I suddenly noticed the sun was gone. Seconds after, my body was becoming littered with raindrops. Neither Rhys nor I moved. I always kind of liked sitting or walking in the rain. It was nice for a moment, but then the rain turned hard, sharp, and heavy.

Rhys sat up. 

“Hail.” He explained, as I looked up, and then regretted it as a piece of hail hit my bruise. We both hopped up from the rock and dashed down the trail. We’d come further than I realized. Fortunately, we were partially covered by the trees. 

I was glad when I saw Rhys’s car. He beeped it and the headlights flashed. I opened the door, after remembering to head to the left side of the car. Silly Brits driving on the wrong side of the car. I sat and shut the door at the same time as Rhys. We were panting from the jog down the path and the adrenaline rush. I glanced at Rhys. His hair was black-brown from the wetness. His shirt clung to his body, which I’d recently discovered to be very muscular. In the warm car with the hail outside, I felt more isolated from the world than normal. Rhys and I felt very alone, but alone together. I had to look away and shake my head to focus on something else. _It wouldn’t work,_ I told myself. _Rhys has what I need from a friend, not from a lover._

“Ready to go back?” Rhys asked, quietly. The hoarse sound of his exertion and the soft depth to his voice made me close my eyes and turn my head up to the ceiling of the car. That voice made me tingle.

“Sure,” I said back softly, eyes still closed. I wondered if he thought I was behaving weird, but didn’t chance opening my eyes to see his expression.

The stereo turned on with some traditional Celtic music that he knew I liked. The heat was warming the crisp chill in the air and slowly drying our clothes. Every once and a while I would hear him singing softly to himself. He wasn’t bad, though he wasn’t particularly good, and for some reason it made me happy to know he wasn’t some perfect, unattainable guy. Finally opening my eyes, I watched the windshield wipers move back and forth in the halting rhythm. Eventually the _tic-tac_ sized hail turned back to pat-pat rain as we entered Glasgow once more.

Twenty minutes later, we rolled up to my apartment. The clock read six-thirty, and despite the time I’d had all day, I still hadn’t gotten my head around going into my apartment where I’d seen my boyfriend fucking my very married friend and co-worker. I turned my head and looked at my apartment’s door, the one that had been violated by my friend and ex-boyfriend.

“Come in with me?” I asked, looking at Rhys, trying not to look pathetic.

“Ok.” He said. We got out and walked to my door. I lifted the brick where I hide-a-key was, to see if Liam had put it back. It was there. I stood up and opened the door. I knew, obviously, that Liam wouldn’t be there. He was smart enough to not want another beat down. My living space and kitchen looked the same. I heard Rhys looking around. I was glad that I kept my place neat. I slowed as I approached my bedroom door. Staying in the hall, I pushed my door open. 

My bed was made, and I could smell a little hint of my air freshener. 

I knew why he’d come to my apartment. Liam had a roommate and Shona was fucking married. They were both too cheap to pay for a motel. Suddenly, I felt nauseous, images from last night rolled through my head. I heard Rhys behind me, but I turned past him and ran to my bathroom. 

I got the toilet seat up before I was sick. It had been a long time since I’d thrown up in a toilet. I heard footsteps in the kitchen and the water turn on. I stood up and closed the lid. I flushed the toilet and took a swig of my mouthwash. When I stepped out of the bathroom, Rhys handed me a glass of water.

“Thanks.” I said, looking at him gratefully. 

“Wanna watch a movie?” He asked. I guess he’d noticed my collection. I nodded.

“You can pick.” I told him. “Surprise me.”

He went to my TV where I kept my movies and I went to my kitchen. I was pretty sure I knew seven particular movies in my collection that he wouldn’t be picking. I got out some carrots, cheese, crackers, and pepperonis. I like finger foods. I brought them to the sofa in front of the TV. I saw him smile at the compilation of foods. But I’d gotten almost every food group. Meat, grain, vegetable, dairy. I guess I could go back and grab some grapes. But I didn’t. Rhys already had the movie queued up. 

He waited until I’d sat down before he pressed play. 

“I haven’t seen this in ages.” He said, nostalgically.

It was the _Great Mouse Detective._

“Of course, you would pick the one British Disney movie I have.” I teased as I settled onto the couch.

I prized myself in having an extensive animated Disney movie collection. We ate, watched, sang along occasionally, then laughed and ate some more. When the movie was over, I picked up what was left of the foods and put them in the fridge. 

Sitting back on the sofa, I sighed.

“I don’t want to be alone tonight.” I said, trying very hard not to sound pathetic, staring at the floor. I didn’t fit on my sofa, so I had to go in my bedroom and sleep in my bed. Rhys didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to make him stay. I looked to him. “Would you stay until I fall asleep?” I asked.

“Sure.” He smiled. He stood up and went to the TV, about to take the DVD out of the player. I left to go change and brush my teeth. I saw Rhys turning out the lights as I went into my bedroom slowly. Behind me, Rhys just walked in and sat on my bed, feet up. Like nothing awful had happened there. Seeing him there made me feel better, I walked in and got under the covers, facing Rhys.

“You know what a wonderful person you are, don’t you?” I asked him, a dim silhouette on his face.

“Thanks.” He said, embarrassed. I put my hand on his.

“No, really, thank you.” I said, solemnly. “You were here for me when I needed someone.”

“I told you I’d be a bloody brilliant friend.” He teased. I smiled in the darkness, remembering the first day when he’d taken me for dinner after he’d hit my car.

I shifted deeper under the covers, resting my head against his upper arm. “So you did.”


	9. The Kiss

I opened my eyes dreamily and saw light shining through my windows, but from the angle I knew it was early. Slowly, awareness of Rhys in bed beside me grew. He was lying behind me, his arm draped over my stomach. I guess he’d fallen asleep before he realized I had and he could leave. I noticed that my left breast had fallen out of my tank top. I decided to leave it. I was not a modest person. Rhys should get used to that if he really wanted to be my friend, not to mention I was feeling mischievous again and wanted to know what Rhys would do. I closed my eyes to sleep.

Right when I was on the edge of sleep, the bed shifted as Rhys lifted his head. Probably feeling the confusion of waking up in a new place that I’d felt the morning before. Then his head plopped back down on my pillow. I felt his breath ruffle my hair. The hand on my stomach moved, as though it had woken separately from the rest of Rhys’s body. Slowly, it brushed against my belly button, and moved upwards. His hand touched my ribcage and paused. I was still, keeping my eyes closed, breathing evenly. The latter was with some difficulty. Then the hand slid up to cup my exposed breast. His hand was warm and strong. I must have extraordinary strength to have kept still with the resulting throb I felt from that one action, but not even an eyelash twitched. He held my breast firmly, not nervously. To top it off, his thumb circled over my nipple, which hardened immediately. That action made me wonder whether Rhys had been awake yesterday morning, pretending to sleep, and known exactly what I had been up to. Lest he be caught, Rhys then tucked my breast under my top securely and withdrew his hand. I felt my mind relax and told the rest of my body to do so as well.

Rhys stood up from my bed and walked into my kitchen. I heard shuffling sounds and then he walked back in. I heard the crinkle of paper on my bed. Then footsteps told me he walked out of the apartment. I heard a fiddling with the lock, which I concluded meant that he’d found my hide-a-key and was locking back up. I rolled over to my back and looked at the note. 

**Sleep Well. I’ll stop by the D &G tonight – R**

I smiled and rolled over to sleep more.

At ten o’clock, I woke up and got ready for work. I was working a double shift today to make up for my absence yesterday. I applied my make-up carefully over my bruise. I knew there was no way to make it disappear, so instead I just tried to make it look like I’d gotten it a week ago, not a day ago.

Shona wasn’t there for my first shift. But at five o’clock, she walked in with Blane. I looked right past her and greeted Blane, who glanced at Shona as though asking for an explanation for my behavior. I worked, ignoring Shona’s presence, but otherwise completely normal. With only an hour left on my shift, I found a minute to talk to Blane.

“Hey.” I said quietly. 

“Hey, yourself. What happened to your face?” He asked, concerned. “Is it that new guy I’ve seen around? Or Liam?” 

I waved his comment away. “Do you know what Shona was doing two nights ago?” I asked.

“She did that to you?!” He was astounded.

“Don’t be silly.” I waved it away again. “Do you know?” I repeated.

“She said she was–” He started.

“No.” I interrupted. “Ask her again.” I told him. “And keep on asking her until you get an answer that you and I both wouldn’t like. Okay?” I looked at him, completely serious.  
He met my gaze, solemn. “Got it.” He agreed. I nodded once and walked away. I glanced at Shona, who’d been looking at us talking. Then she glanced at Blane, and looked nauseous. Well, it was her turn to be nauseous.

Rhys showed up ten minutes before my shift was over and once I’d finished, we sat down and had a drink together. Unfortunately, I had some homework to do, so we parted ways for the night. I went home, did some work and went to bed.

Sunday was an easy day. I wasn’t working. I stayed in did some homework while watching TV. Rhys texted me asking how I was feeling. We texted back and forth all day. 

The next week was slow. 

On Tuesday, Blane stopped me to tell me that he’d moved back in with his parents and Aiden was with him. I was sorry to hear it, because Blane looked really down, but I was glad that Shona hadn’t wormed her way out of consequences. After I knew that, I behaved completely normal around Shona, talking like distant acquaintances, ignoring her betrayal. This seemed to worry her, to my amusement. My shift ended at seven on Tuesday, and I went over to Rhys’s apartment because we made plans to cook and watch a movie. I was impressed with Rhys’s fish ‘n chips. If I hadn’t seen him cook, I’d have thought he bought take-out. We watched Independence Day, which Rhys had never seen. I think he liked it, but watching _Independence Day_ with a Brit made me realize that it is significantly more cool if you’re an American, who save Earth from an evil alien race.

By Friday, my bruise had turned from blue-black to a fading green-brown and my make-up almost completely covered it up. I walked in for work at quarter-til-nine, feeling good. It was my first time seeing Geoff since I got my bruise. I gave him the reader’s digest version. Geoff offered to pound some face for me, which I declined with gratitude. Rhys came in at eleven after his show and sat in his usual back corner. I spent any spare second I had over there. After about twenty minutes, Mark and Alan came in and joined him. It was only my second time seeing Mark, but I’d seen Alan more. I got their orders and went behind the bar to get their beers. As I was exiting the bar with a tray of three beers, there was someone in my way. I recognized the t-shirt at my eye-level.

“Move. I’m working.” I stared at the shirt.

“Talk to me.” He said it in an even voice. He had tried calling and texting me sporadically throughout the week. 

“No.” I said and took a step forward, hoping he’d move. He didn’t. I turned to the bar, set my tray down and looked up at him. I almost smiled. Liam’s face was still swollen. There was a bruise on his jaw and cheekbone and a little bruise on his temple. 

“Geoff?” I asked in a raised voice. I heard footsteps behind me. Remembering suddenly, I glanced to the back corner. Rhys had stood up, and was looking at me, concerned and I could tell about to walk over to me. I gave him my calm gaze and shook my head once. 

“Need me, Anna?” I heard Geoff ask, directly behind me. He sounded excited for a fight. Rhys glanced a Geoff and leaned against the wall with folded arms. I guess he was satisfied that at least I had another person to help me out. I didn’t turn around and look at Geoff. I just looked back up at Liam. 

“Nope.” I said. “I just thought you’d like to admire my handiwork.” I commented, gesturing to Liam’s face. Liam’s face flushed, looking both embarrassed and angry. He backed up and turned walking to a few of his friends on the other side of the bar. Then I turned around to Geoff. “Impressed?” I asked, a sweet smile on.

Geoff grinned. “Very.” He laughed, patting the top of my head, then went back to work. I picked up my tray and walked over to Rhys’s table. Alan and Mark looked appropriately concerned, watching me come towards them.

“You okay?” He asked, still standing. I put my tray on the table and glanced behind me. Liam was watching me, two of his friends as well. 

I put two hands on his chest and stood up on my toes. 

“Can I borrow you for a second?” I asked softly, looking Rhys in the eyes.

“Yea.” He said, willing, but confused. 

As he said that, I grabbed his shirt and pulled him forcefully towards me. I rose up to my toes and kissed him gently. Rhys was frozen in shock. Just as he was about to respond, I broke away, keeping my lips a hair’s breadth from his. I felt Rhys’s surprise in the way he held his body, but he wasn’t pulling away from me, so I leaned back in for more. This time Rhys responded hesitantly, his lips were warm and soft but unsure. When I pulled back again, I lifted my head to look into his soft blue eyes. They were gentle and kind like always but there was a hunger in them now. I hadn’t planned on more, but I felt Rhys wrap his arms around me, and my stomach dipped as he pressed our bodies together firmly. Unconsciously, my hands slid from his chest to up around his neck and I kissed him again, drawing out every second. His warm lips responded eagerly. I pressed the full length of my body against his, encouraging him to hold me tighter. His hands obeyed my silent request by lowering from my back to my hips and pulling me closer. Our lips parted and our tongues touched for just a second. I moved one of my hands from behind his neck to hold his face to mine, feeling a hint of a five o’ clock shadow. 

Abruptly, I broke the kiss that had already gone on too long. I had a feeling that Rhys would have continued on kissing me until we passed out from exhaustion. I smiled. Rhys’s face was red, particularly around his nose and mouth, and I was sure that I’d gone a little blotchy too. I didn’t move my feet but leaned my head away, Rhys still held me to him, which was good because I was feeling wobbly. For a few breaths, we just looked at each other. This time I’m sure we both looked a little surprised, though I had no right to be. I was the one who’d started it.

The noise of the bar came flooding back to me. I looked down at Mark and Alan, who were more or less staring slack-jawed at us. Then looked at Rhys again, trying not to be embarrassed or awkward.

“Was Liam watching?” I asked, sounding more composed than I felt.

Alan and Mark were silent. Rhys cleared his throat and flicked his eyes behind me.

“Yea.” He said, positive. “He didn’t miss a thing.”

I just nodded. Suddenly, as the pub’s energy came into focus, I felt confident that not a person in the bar had missed it. I didn’t even have to turn around and look to know it was true. Then, all at once, I felt petty. Rhys released his firm hold on my hips. I didn’t step away at first. Not knowing how to exit this situation, I looked at Alan and Mark.

“You can borrow me too, if you’d like, darling.” Mark quipped, breaking the intensity with his arms outstretched. Rhys, then, stepped away from me. He chuffed silently, and I gave an awkward giggle.

“Thanks for the offer.” I said, turning to look over my shoulder. I just caught a glimpse of Liam walking out of the bar. “But I think once was enough.” Rhys had sat back down. I put a hand on his shoulder.

“Thanks.” I smiled. He laughed.

“No problem.” Smiling back at me, his voice cracked a bit. I picked up my tray without the pints and walked back to the bar and checked on my tables. Glancing to the back corner, I observed, but didn’t hear, an interesting conversation between the three of them. It almost seemed like an argument. I wished that I could eavesdrop, but then figured it was probably for the best that I not hear whatever conversation they were having. I glanced over again and caught Rhys’s eye already on me. Yep, they were talking about me. I could tell.

An hour and a half later, after they’d eaten, Rhys met me as I was walking by the bar after dropping off beers at a table. Alan and Mark were at the door, heading out. I held my hand out to him. He took it.

“You leaving?” I asked.

“Yea. Don’t worry, I didn’t tip you.” He teased me. “Text me when you get to your apartment? So I know you’re safe?” He asked. I smiled, feeling indulgent towards his excess concern.

“Sure.” I answered. Rhys leaned in and kissed my cheek, his warm lips lingering on my skin. I kissed his cheek at the same time. 

“Bye.” He said, softly, pulling away.

“Good night.” I continued to feel a ghost of his kiss as I watched him walk away. That kiss on my cheek was so much like others I’d received from him before, but it was strange how this one seemed so much more personal than even the one we’d shared to make Liam jealous. As I was driving home that night, I realized that the difference was that the second one had been just for us, not for someone else.


	10. Finally

Saturday morning, or afternoon really, I woke up to my phone ringing. I looked at my clock and saw that it was half of twelve. I pulled my head up, rolled onto my stomach and picked my phone up from my nightstand.

“Hello?” I answered. My voice was hoarse from my sleep.

“Oh, no. Did I wake you?” Rhys asked, feeling guilty, but his deep British voice speaking in my ear was a wonderful way to wake up.

“Yea, but it’s cool. I should be up by now anyways. Nice way to wake up.” I didn’t bother to explain why. “I had trouble getting to sleep last night.” I told him. This too I didn’t feel the need to explain why, which had been because I’d been thinking about the kiss we’d shared and how much my body had enjoyed it.

“I’m sorry.” He sympathised, but I heard a slight smile in his voice. I wondered if he’d had trouble getting to sleep last night. “Feel like going to a concert tonight?” I had mentioned last night that I wasn’t working today.

“Sure, who’s playing?” I asked. 

“Flogging Molly.” He told me.

“No way!” I yelled into the phone, fully awake now. “Seriously?” 

“Yea.” He answered, pleased by my reaction.

“That’s awesome. I can’t wait.” I rolled over onto my back, keeping the phone to my ear.

“I’ll pick you up at eight?” He confirmed.

“Sounds like a plan.”

I cleaned my kitchen and did some homework that afternoon. Around five, I took a long shower to give me plenty of time to get ready for the concert. Looking through my closet, I decided on a green high-waisted wool mini-skirt that had a million pleats in the back with a white Lycra top with a scoop neck and capped sleeves. I wore my beat up black ankle boots with a four-inch heel and an inch platform under the toe. I knew from experience that it was always better to be tall at concerts. I also knew it would be hot in the crowd, so I French braided my hair stopping at the crown of my head and pulled it into a ponytail. The end of the pony tall hit right between my shoulder blades. At seven forty-five, I was finishing my make-up and buckled my hand-bands on. Then I remembered that I wouldn’t want to bring a purse and stuck my keys, phone and wallet into a pocket in my skirt. 

I grabbed a chapstick and smeared it on my lips as I heard a knock on my door. I dropped it on my bed and trotted out of my room. I grabbed my long charcoal sweater on my way to the door. It was a bit chilly outside as I opened my door.

“Hi there.” I greeted Rhys, stepping outside and locking up.

For a second, Rhys looked me up and down. “You look great.” I noticed he spent a fraction of a second longer eyeing my legs. Usually I wore pants, to keep off the April chill, so this was probably the first time he’d seen my legs bare.

“Thanks,” I smiled. The concert was at an amphitheatre just outside of the city centre. Rhys had gotten VIP tickets, big surprise. I found out his publicist had gotten them for him today, which was the reason for the last minute plans. As VIPs, we parked right at the front of the entrance to the amphitheatre. I checked my sweater and Rhys checked his jacket at the VIP desk, so we wouldn’t have to hold them during the concert. The openers for Flogging Molly didn’t start until nine, so there weren’t many people here yet. The venue was outside, which meant it was a little chilly without the mob of people that would surround us soon. We got some beers and took our places at the edge of the stage. I was bouncing up and down from excitement and the cold. Rhys looked cold too. He was wearing a gray t-shirt of a band I didn’t know and a pair of soft green corduroys. 

“I can’t wait until a few more people get here and warm things up a little bit.” I said, leaning into Rhys’s chest, avoiding a breeze. Goosebumps rose on my newly shaved legs.

He laughed, “It won’t be long until we want them to leave, though.” He put an arm around my waist. Then, on a whim, I pulled out the elastic in my hair and combed through the plaits. 

“There.” I said. “My hair will at least keep my neck warm.” One reason I loved my long hair is that it did keep me warm. Rhys raised his arm on my back to hide it under my hair, which made me laugh. He was using my hair for warmth too.

I leaned my head on Rhys’s chest, as we shared our warmth, tilting my head up every time I took a sip from my beer. I knew that if people looked over at us, they probably thought we were a couple. Eventually more people congregated around the stage and Rhys and I were sufficiently warm without snuggling. I put my hair up again, which Rhys watched with interest. Probably because of the amount of hair I was able to control.

The opening band was good, slightly more traditional Celtic music than Flogging Molly, but I liked it. The crowd was deafening when Flogging Molly came out. We were very close to the front, but I was still thankful for the extra inches I had with my shoes. At several points, Rhys had to get a little pushy to keep some drunk guys from getting rowdy. 

“I could have handled those guys.” I told him.

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Rhys whispered in my ear. With my shoes, he was just the right height to stand behind me and speak in my ear. Needless to say, a deep British voice in my ear all night had me tingling non-stop. 

“If word gets out that a woman is beating up guys over here, that will only bring more of them to watch.” Rhys joked.

Flogging Molly played until twelve-thirty, and their encore was twenty more minutes. Though because of our convenient parking spot, we were out of the parking lot by ten after one. I knew it would have made sense to be tired, but I was so pumped. I felt like I could run a marathon. When we pulled up to my apartment, I wasn’t even a little bit tired.

“Wanna come in?” I asked. “I’m not going to sleep anytime soon.” I offered, knowing Rhys was still amped up too.

“Sure.” He said, getting out of the car. When we were inside, I got us some water. We hadn’t had more than three beers each, but I got hangovers very easily and water helped prevent them.

Rhys sat in the middle of the sofa and I sat on his right, toed off my boots then pulled my socked feet up on other side of Rhys’s lap. My knees made a triangle over his lap. I leaned back against the sofa’s armrest.

“Ahh.” I sighed, leaning my head back. “That was so fun.”

Rhys put his arms on the back of the sofa. “Yea it was.” He took a sip of water. Rhys hesitated for a second. “Can I ask you something personal?” He asked.

I lifted my head, curious. 

“Yea.” I allowed. I propped an elbow on a pillow and rested my chin in my hand.

He paused. I could almost hear his mind figuring out how to phrase his question.

“The night when you caught Liam.” He paused. I nodded. He studied my face looking to see if he’d struck a nerve. He hadn’t. I was well over it by now. “You said, ‘we were compatible, and that's hard for me to find.’ What exactly did you mean by that?” His voice was soft as he asked it. I think he wasn’t really sure if I would answer it.

I sat very still, looking at the floor. Lee had said that I should talk to him about my issues. I guess this was my chance. I took a deep breath. 

“It’s a lengthy story. You want to hear it?” I asked, making sure he really wanted to know. I didn’t want to over share.

“I do.” He said, earnest. His eyes were open and direct. I caught myself getting distracted trying to think what name of blue I would call the colour of his eyes. I shook my head infinitesimally.

I looked straight across from me, which happened to be my kitchen sink.

“It started with my high school sweetheart. We had been together for three years. After graduation, we decided that we would try and stay together even though we’d be apart in the fall.” I looked at Rhys. I felt a little hollow still when I thought about it. “I thought I was going to marry him, have his babies and live with him for the rest of my life. I was so sure of him and our future together.” Then I had to look down. “Two weeks into summer vacation, I woke up and found that he’d put a ring I’d given him in an envelope and left it in the mail box. I tried calling him and he didn’t answer. I went to his house and his mom said he’d gone to California early to move into his house. Finally he answered my call and just said ‘I’m sorry, I just couldn’t do it anymore.’” 

I looked straight ahead of me again. My voice had become clinical. 

“Needless to say I was heartbroken. My future, my life, my love everything that I had planned for myself was gone. For a week, I barely spoke and lost about fifteen pounds because I wouldn’t eat. Then I gradually got better. I actually melted down his silver ring and made it into an earring. I use to wear it, but I don’t anymore. It got creepy.” I looked at Rhys, whose face was upset. I smiled, wanting him to cheer up. 

“Eventually I started dating again, but whenever it got intimate…” I paused, glancing down at my knees. Unconsciously, I started picking at the bands on my hands. 

“I was, um, never sated.” I flicked my eyes to Rhys, verging on an uncomfortable topic. He didn’t understand, I could tell. “What I mean is, that I never, er, climaxed, so to speak, and I tried. I tried really hard.” I laughed nervously. Rhys nodded with a similar nervous smile, now he got it. “I grew frustrated with myself, and began pursuing men with recklessness.” I shook my head horrified at my past behaviour. “It’s a miracle I never ended up with an STD. I went to the Gyno every three months.” I let him know. “But it wasn’t until I met this one guy that my losing streak was, ahem, broken.” 

This part of the conversation would be even more awkward. “No judgments?” I asked Rhys. Honestly, I was scared he’d think I was a pervert or a nympho or something.

He grinned, and shrugged. “No judgments, I promise.” I nodded, feeling a little better.

“This guy liked to dominate women. He’d hold me down, blindfold, tie me up, spank me, tell me what to do, all kinds of stuff. It wasn’t the real heavy stuff, like whips or a lot of pain, but it was control and I liked that he had it and I didn’t.

“I think my problem was that with other men, I was trying to control my feelings so I wouldn’t get hurt again, but when I was dominated I was forced out of control so I only thought about physical sensations rather than emotions.” I put a hand over my face, embarrassed. 

“It’s hard to find a guy that will admit that that’s what he likes or is willing to do those kinds of things to a woman. Most often the guys like that aren’t the most intellectually stimulating, which makes sticking around for more than one night hard.” 

I nervously looked at Rhys. He was thoughtful, still listening to me. He didn’t seem entirely surprised, which surprised me. I began to suspect that Lee had alluded to something on the phone and that’s what had made his eyes bug out.

“Liam is the second guy in the past three years that I’ve spent more than a night with, not that there have been a great number of others besides him.” I played with the bands around my hands. “Just so you know, I went to the Gyno on the Monday after Liam… after I caught Liam, too make sure he had given me anything from whoever else he might have been screwing. I’m clean, thank God.” I shivered, creeped out thinking about where Liam’s dick might have been.

He nodded. But didn’t say anything. I studied his faced, but couldn’t understand what he was thinking. I don’t know why I felt the need to tell him that I was clean, but I did. I hope he didn’t think I was oversharing.

“Please say something.” I asked, feeling self-conscious.

He looked up at me, saw my worried expression and smiled. “I’m sorry that you have a hard time finding good guys.” He said. He put his hand on my knee. “And I wish I could kill that first bastard who left you.” 

“Thanks, I guess.” I sighed, and then thought about his first comment. I stared at my hands. “And it’s not so much that I have a hard time finding good guys. I just have a hard time putting their goodness to good use.” I looked up at Rhys, and put a hand on the one he had on my knee. “From what I know, you are a very good guy.” I lamented, looking at his kind face. His expression grew sad but he only let that show for a second. I looked back at my hand. “I’m pretty sure your appetite isn’t quite deviant as mine.” 

“Ah –” He stopped. “Can I speak frankly?” He asked.

The corner of my mouth twitched holding a grin. “Please do.”

“If you’ll forgive me for saying so,” he began. “I just love women too much to treat them that way.” He smiled it, almost like he was apologising. “I could see some light spanking, but not much.” He almost smiled. 

I laughed once. I leaned forward on my thighs and put my head on his neck and closed my eyes. Rhys wrapped an arm behind me. His hand touched my outer thigh, and his head leaned on mine. We both were very comfortable. 

It was odd, the way we were with each other. Rhys and I could be very intimate. We’d comfortably slept two nights together. We’d both copped a feel, though whether Rhys knew that, I didn’t know. I began to wonder what sex would be like with him. It had been a while since I’d had vanilla, tender, and loving love, and it had been an especially long time since I’d had sex with someone I really cared about. Images of what it could be like with Rhys started to form in my mind. I closed my eyes to see them clearer. Suddenly, I slid back and away from Rhys forcefully.

I don’t know why I reacted to my own thoughts so strongly, but I think they’d scared me. 

“You okay?” He asked, looking at my expression. I don’t know what it looked like to him.

“Yea.” I said it like a question. I glanced at the clock on my cable box. It was close to three in the morning. “You wanna stay here tonight? It’s kind of late. I’m starting to get tired.”

Rhys’s face was cautious at first, and some emotion overruled him. “Yea okay.”

“Cool.” I stood up. “You can have the bathroom first.” I went to my room and hung my skirt up and threw my top into the hamper. I took off my underwear and looked at myself, naked for a moment. I did that sometimes. I didn’t judge my body or pick it apart, I just looked at myself, curious. Then pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of Aerie boxers I wear to bed. I took my hair out of its ponytail. I dug out a pair of gym shorts that had been my brother’s. I used to always steal my brother’s clothes, and threw them on my bed for Rhys. 

Rhys and I switched rooms. I pointed out the shorts, if he wanted them. He laughed, I think he thought it was funny that I still had my brother’s shorts, even when he was across the Atlantic. I closed the door to the bathroom and washed my face and brushed my teeth. Vainly, I looked at myself in the mirror, fussed my hair a bit and walked out.

I went back in my room and saw Rhys looking at my wall of pictures. Most of them were of Lee and me, but a few had my brother or my parents.

“Can you tell who is who?” I asked teasing, the pictures of us when we were younger are harder to differentiate because we used to purposefully try and look the same.

Rhys smiled. “Of course.” He pointed to me in every picture. I laughed when he paused on a picture of us when we were twelve. We had the same haircut, same clothes, same smile. “That’s you, right?” He asked, pointing to me.

I smiled. “Yea, how could you tell?” I wondered, as I remembered I still had my hand bands on and started to unbuckle them.

“Because you’re the one fiddling with something in your hand.” He looked down, pointing to my hands that were busy removing the bands. I looked back at the picture and remembered the matching bracelets Lee and I used to wear. Sure enough, my hands were playing with the clasp.

I laughed and threw my bands on my nightstand. “Well, aren’t you Mister Observant?” I teased. I pulled back the covers on my bed and slid in. Rhys sat down and put his feet under the covers.  
I laid on my back, trying not to feel awkward. This wasn’t the first time I’d slept with Rhys in the literal sense. Of course at the time, we hadn’t kissed rather passionately the day before or spent the last forty-five minutes talking about my own sexual frustration. I pushed the images that had scared me earlier out of my head. Rhys laid down beside me. 

I looked at him, “Good night.” I wished him, and I rolled over on my side. Somehow, after I closed my eyes, I realised that I somehow managed to scoot closer to him when I rolled over. Or maybe it was that I was more aware of him when I couldn’t see him. Definitely both, I concluded. It was chilly in my room and I could feel his warmth under the sheets. I felt Rhys lay onto his side too, the vibrations making me slide toward him a fraction of an inch. I’d thought that maybe he’d turned on his side to face away from me, but I felt his warm breath on my hair, which made my stomach drop. It felt like all of the nerves on my back were on special alert. I tried to relax my mind to sleep, but as soon as I did, the images of what it would be like to really be with Rhys seared into my eyelids. I think my body decided on its own to adjust on my bed, which brought me closer the Rhys’s warm body. I swear he was no more that two inches from me. My instinct was to lean back against him, but I didn’t, I stayed strong, despite how wonderful I knew it would feel. 

I heard him breathing, but not in a loud, mouth breather sort of way, but as though he was concentrating on making it silent. It was the breathing of someone trying to go to sleep, but failing. It was shallow and frequent. He was distracted and unable to lull into slumber. Neither was I. I knew that we both were keyed up, but this time it wasn’t caused by the concert. I heard movement and the bed shifted slightly. Then Rhys’s arm came around my waist and slowly rested itself around my waist. The hand was timid, unsure if it was imposing. Now not only were the nerves on my back on special alert, but all of my mental focus was centred on that arm and the part of me it touched. 

Finally, I weakened. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I relaxed and leaned back against Rhys’s body. I almost gasped when I discovered exactly how close behind me he’d actually been. He had been no less than an inch away, now he wasn’t away at all. My eyes had been closed, but I really relaxed them closed with the relief of having Rhys’s warmth and comfort resting behind me. The strong hand on my stomach moved, really holding me against him this time, which gave me tingles down my spine. 

After a few breaths, I came to the conclusion that our nearness only made my ability to relax even less so, because every part of my body yearned to turn over and face Rhys. Images in my mind played over again of Rhys and I together. Except this time was both better and worse. My imagination had a tactile element, since I was now closer to the object of my fantasies. I resisted my urge to roll over and make those images real. I concentrated on Rhys’s arm around my waist and stomach, wishing that to be enough. Then I noticed that Rhys’s breathing was just as shallow as mine. Apparently he couldn’t seem to relax enough to sleep either, despite our rather cozy position. I knew that Rhys was probably lying next to me thinking about something. I wished I could tap in his head and see if it was the same thing I was thinking. 

I felt my hair move behind me. Rhys was moving his head. My stomach was flipping and all of my senses, feel, touch, smell, hear, and I even tried to see without moving my head, were trying to find out what Rhys was doing. Then I felt his forehead on my neck. It felt hot, feverish. I closed my eyes again, taking a breath, because I had stopped breathing. Then he lifted his forehead, I felt the tip of his nose graze across my skin, and then so slowly it was painful waiting for it, I felt his lips press against my neck.

My body responded, doing as it wished. My neck arched toward his lips, prolonging the contact. My chin rose toward him and my lips parted, ever so slightly as I breathed in quickly. It sounded like a gasp. My mind formed no coherent thought. It only felt and wanted. Finally, my mind and body got on the same page. I raised my right hand to his arm that was around me and rolled over to face Rhys, keeping his arm around me. A knot inside me released as I gave in to the thing I had wanted. My hand touched his cheek. 

“Rhys.” I caressed. Then pulled him to me, gluing our bodies together. My lips seized his, unrelenting. I pushed myself on top of him, feeling our bodies meld. Rhys’s arm secured us together as his hand drifted to my butt. Our tongues danced together between our urgent lips. Rhys rolled over me, supporting some of his weight. I raised a knee and hooked it around a leg. I broke for air and Rhys’s lips moved to my throat reaching places that made my eye roll up in my head. I explored under his shirt, enjoying the undulations of his muscles. I pulled his shirt up to his shoulders and making him break his kisses to pull it over his head. He came back down to me. I could feel his excitement between his legs. I arched my hips to move against him. 

Rhys groaned in the back of his throat in a way that sent vibrations down to my groin. I rolled over him and settled to straddle him. Watching his face, I sat up on him and lifted the hem of my shirt. As my shirt flew across the room, Rhys’s hands were already sliding up my waist and his eyes were hot on my skin. I leaned back down, sighing as our bare skin touched. I kissed his chest and moved my hips over the growing bulge between us. I covered Rhys’s moan with a kiss, breaking it for air immediately. Once again, Rhys rolled over me and took my breasts in hand. I reached up and grabbed my headboard, closing my eyes and arching my back. I opened them in shock when Rhys’s lips tugged on my right nipple. My breathing was ragged at the sharp arousal. I lowered one of my hands and let it trail down his stomach until I reached his waistband. I ran a finger under it, causing him to raise his head. His blue eyes were excited and his red hair sticking up in places. He was panting.

He stared me in the eyes. “You sure?” He asked.

I looked at him through lowered eyelashes. “Yea.” I nodded. “Very sure.” I sent my hand under the fabric and found my prize. 

His eyes rolled and choked out, “Oh god!” as my hand worked him. I could tell he was ready, and I knew I was. With my other hand, I fished through the top drawer on my nightstand. I ripped the wrapper open with my teeth. Rhys was watching me, eyes wide and admiring. I slid his shorts off with the hand already down there. Rhys lifted up on all fours for me. I reached my other hand down there and rolled the condom on for him. I looked up at Rhys, who raised a hand and pulled at my boxers. I raised my hips and toed them off. With that same hand, he took one of my knees and raised it up so my foot was flat on the bed. Then hand was off my knee, moving down my inner thigh. I sighed as the hand found its destination and discovered me dripping with arousal. Satisfied that I was ready, Rhys lowered his body to mine and guided himself between me. He lingered at my entrance, teasing. I whimpered impatience. 

A second later he pushed in, causing me to cry out. My hand clutched his back for support as he moved into me, stretching me. I kissed his neck, reaching one hand lower to take hold of his bum. I groaned as he slid out and thrust in powerfully. Spreading my leg more and wrapping it around his hip led me to discover he could go deeper. I cried out again, encouraging him to go faster. He thrust in me deeper and faster. My hips started to raise up to meet his. I felt a pressure building in me. My butt flexed, my knees straightened, toes pointed, hips moving faster until it hit me.

“Ah, fuck.” Rhys groaned. “Anna, you feel so good.”

My muscles started tightening over around Rhys. I cried out his name as I clung to his body and my body began contracting around him. He closed his eyes and arched his back letting me squeeze around him as he got his own release.

Rhys collapsed on me, panting. I was panting too and it felt good having Rhys’s weight on me. As my aftershocks subsided, Rhys pulled out of me and rolled next to me on his back. I rolled over too, lying on my side. My knee overlapped his knee. I hugged my body to him, putting my arm on his chest and I rested my head on his shoulder. I sighed contentment.

“Wow.” I said, awed by the escalation of our relationship. My breathing had almost returned to normal.

“Yea.” He agreed. I looked at his face and recognised the same post-coital lethargy I was feeling. I pushed myself up on my elbow to look down at Rhys. My bare breasts brushed against the side Rhys’s chest. His eyes moved to them for a lingering moment before finding their way up to my face.

“Was that as incredible for you as it was for me?” I asked. My tone was impressed. Rhys gave a hearty laugh, which made me feel good, that I was still with the same person.

“That was absolutely incredible for me.” He stated, in an exhausted voice, his tone was awed. Then his expression changed. “Was it really good for you?” He asked, worried I was placating him. “Seriously, tell me.” He was asking if I’d gotten my rocks off. 

I gave him a slow smile. I leaned over, pressing my naked body against his, and kissed him deeply holding his face to mine. I broke the kiss but stayed close to his face, I looked into his eyes.

“Believe me.” I kissed him again. “I was all kinds of satisfied.” I kissed him again. Rhys smiled against my lips before returning my kiss.

I gave him a final kiss before settling down against his shoulder. I reach down to grab the sheets that had been pushed aside and pulled them over us. I laid my head down.

“Good night.” I said. This time when I said it, I wasn’t wishing him a good night. I was describing the night we just had.

“Yes,” I felt him kiss my hair. “It was.” I heard him smiling.

I closed my eyes contented, and let the lethargy take me.


	11. Official

I woke up and I was alone. Looking at the empty space beside me, I sat up sadly, holding the sheets to cover my naked body. My hand rose to tangle in my hair, and I wondered if last night had only been a dream. I suspected it wasn’t because I never really slept naked and I was definitely naked. I propped my pillow against my headboard and leaned against it. My mind ran through my previous experience of being left alone unexpectedly.

A clink of china sounded from the kitchen. My head jerked to my slightly ajar bedroom door. My mind was blank except for that sound. I didn’t want to hope it was Rhys and be disappointed, but I also didn’t want it to be a burglar either. I simply sat transfixed.

A moment later, Rhys walked in wearing my brother’s shorts, carrying a mug in each hand.

An almost sly grin on his face hit his face when he saw that I was awake. He looked well rested. I looked to my clock on my nightstand. It was nine o’clock. We’d had no more than five hours of sleep last night. No one should be so awake after so little sleep.

“Tea?” Rhys asked brightly. Smiling softly, I took the mug he offered as he sat beside me in bed. I looked back to Rhys, who seemed worried that I hadn’t responded to him yet.

With my free arm not holding a mug, I tugged at the sheet covering me, pulling it out from being tucked in the mattress. As I secured the sheet around my body, I thought about how women always seem to do this in movies. I’d always thought it was odd because not hours before these women had let their men see them naked and suddenly in the morning they cared about being seen? 

I never understood those women in movies until this moment. Feeling unusually vulnerable at the moment, I really wanted to be covered and the sheet was now my best friend.

“Thanks.” I said quietly, jarring myself out of my internal thoughts. I sipped my tea. It tasted like the tea I had in the house. I don’t know what I expected. Maybe that it would taste like Rhys-made tea. I guess I was trying to think about anything other than how I was feeling. Feeling Rhys’ eye on me, I glanced at him once as I took another sip of tea, but slowly moved my gaze away. Then, I felt guilty for not looking at him. So I slowly turned back to him. Now, he looked worried, which made my heart hurt. His blue eyes told me they were sad, but trying to hide it and his eyebrows were slightly raised in the middle. 

“Anna, what’s wrong?” He asked, turning to sit cross-legged in front of me. I paused, framing my words before I spoke. Nothing was really wrong, not about _us_. Just _me_. “Please, just tell me what you’re thinking.” 

I took a breath to steady my voice. I fixed on his open, honest, and slightly sad blue eyes.

“I’m really scared.” I said, almost a whisper. I tried to follow my train of thought to figure out more to say to him. His expression didn’t change except his eyebrows relaxed. He looked a little less sad.

“I’d say that’s fairly normal.” He told me, seeming a little relieved that I was scared and not regretful. 

I looked down at my mug, holding it in both hands. One of my thumbs picks at the other thumb, I just sat watching my hands. Then I shook my head.

“No?” I heard him ask, not looking up at him. I took a sip of my tea. 

“I don’t,” I paused, thinking, “I can’t…its just that,” I looked up at him, which did nothing for my train of thought. Even when worried, his handsome his face made it harder for me to think clearly. 

“If we stay just friends,” I started. “I could see us being good friends for the rest of our lives, you know?” I explained, begging him to understand. He nodded, slowly. 

“I really feel like we’re good that way, we have something. But if we try to be more than good friends…” I paused. My eyes visualised all the ways it could go wrong, specifically, all the ways I could mess it up, “do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had a connection like this? With someone that I actually care about?”

I let that question hang. Rhys looked sad and concerned now. I could tell this was not what he’d been hoping for when he woke up this morning, which made me feel even worse. I sat back away from him, thumping against my headboard, and slopping some tea from my mug onto my sheets. I left it there, and didn’t bother wiping it up. The puddle soaked into the sheet dispersing through the fabric.

“I’m so messed up, I just know I will screw us up and we’d split up badly.” I looked up to him from the sheet. “I will not lose someone who could have been my lifelong friend. I won’t sacrifice that just because I enjoying to talking to you _and_ jumping your bones too.” I stared at him. I saw a flicker of amusement from my turn of phrase.

“Anna.” Rhys said, calmly. I looked up at the sound of his voice. I loved how he said my name. It was soothing and captivating, but I could tell he was working hard to make it so, instead of sad and tense. “You are the first girl – no, the first person – I’ve met in the past twelve years that I truly believe doesn’t want anything from me, whether using my money, celebrity, connections, or anything, you just like _me_. Do you know how special that makes you to me?” He paused, looking at me like I was a glorious creature from another planet, not a messed-up girl wrapped in a tea-stained sheet. I almost laughed except that I knew he was completely serious. 

“Whatever you want from me, friendship, love, some of both, neither, everything, it’s yours.” He took a breath and put a hand on my sheet-clad knee. “We can make-believe like nothing happened last night and be mates, if that’s what you want. But I agree that we belong in each other’s lives. I really don’t want anything to get in the way of that.”

I just looked at him. I wasn’t sure what I wanted. He seemed to read that in my eyes.

“I’m going to let you think. You probably should get some more sleep. But I’ll be stopping by the Dragonfly and the Goat tonight to see you, because I’ll want to see you, and I know you’ll want to see me.” He smiled. I couldn’t help doing the same. He knew me too well. “You don’t have to tell me what you decide, or if you’ve decided, but I’ll be there anyway, just to be there. Alright?” He asked. I smiled. I loved when that quiet confidence of his popped out every now and then. Nothing is sexier in a man than confidence.

“I’d like that.” I told him. He smiled at my words. It was the smile that started in his eyes then flowed to his mouth and the dimples, it was my favourite one. It made me want to make him smile all over again, just to watch him. 

“Good.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead. Getting up, Rhys looked around and picked up his shirt from the floor. His eyes flicked to mine and I saw a little grin. It was I who’d thrown it there. He pulled the shirt on. I watched as his abs disappeared behind a layer of cotton. It made me regret that I hadn’t enjoyed the view earlier when it had been available. He stuck his foot into each shoe and pulled the laces tight, tucking them it. He still had my brother’s shorts on, which I told him to keep. We said good-bye and he left. 

As soon as he left, I called Lee. I recounted the events of last night, vaguely. Gradually, Lee drew out more details of the juicier parts. We talked a lot about me, and my issues, and whether its possible I had gotten over my issues via Rhys. After talking for an hour, I made Lee talk about her, because I felt like a needy monster always talking about me. She’d met a guy at a club and was going out with him tonight. I told her to be careful and let me know how it went. 

When I got off the phone, it was eleven. 

My shift started at two. I set my alarm for one and slept two more hours. At one, I showered, dressed and headed to work. Shona and Blane were both there. They weren’t speaking, which made for an amusing situation behind the bar when Shona had to make orders. At least it would have been funny if Blane hadn’t clearly been in pain. He really got the worse end of the stick. He had actually loved the stinking cheater; I hadn’t loved mine. Every time I walked past Blane, I rubbed his back or patted his hand. I think he appreciated it. From anyone else he would’ve resented it, I’m sure, but we were in the same boat, though mine was a significantly more diluted pain. 

As I worked, I developed a kind of meditative state of mind. I was thinking about what I wanted. I thought about the day Rhys and I had walked along the path in the fields and woods. I had said that I lived my life, though not necessarily the life I wanted. He had asked me what did I want. I didn’t know how, but I intuitively felt that Rhys was the key for me figuring it out. Whether that key manifested as a friend or lover or life partner or acquaintance or any other kind of relationship two people could have, I just didn’t know.

At six-fifty, Rhys walked in. I waved to him as he sat at the end of the bar. Blane walked towards him, but I trotted behind that bar. 

“I got him, Blane!” I told him. We weren’t that crowded today, only a few people at a couple of tables. I was worried Blane or Shona or the customers would harass him. With less people in the bar, there is a more limited selection to observe. Blane looked at me, curious, then looked at Rhys. His eyes moved over the planes of his face and his eyes squinted a millimetre. I knew Blane would recognise him, since Rhys wasn’t in his dark corner. I was setting up a pint of Harp for Rhys and Blane took to steps to me.

“Is that –” He started.

“Yes, don’t harass him.” I muttered, looking up at Blane with sharp eyes. He held his arms up, sensing my protectiveness.

“Sorry.” He said, not sounding very sorry. I peeked at Rhys over the tap and saw him looking at Blane, who was meeting his gaze. Rhys lifted the corner of his mouth and his expression said ‘please don’t make a scene.’

I took the pint and carried it to him.

“Hi.” I greeted, putting the pint in front of him.

“Thanks.” He said, accepting it. Looking me in the eyes, Rhys’ gaze held more power over me after the intimacies we’d shared. My knees felt a little wobbly, and I had the urge to wrap my legs around him. “Hey yourself.” His voice was full of knowing.

I smiled. “I’ll be off in a few minutes, then I want to talk. OK?” I’m sure I sounded pleasant so Rhys smiled back.

“I’ll be here.” He said and I went off to hang up my apron. I grabbed my purse from Roal’s office and walked out to see Shona eyeing Rhys too. Good Lord. I walked toward him and sat in the stool beside him. Leaning over, I touched his strong jaw with a few fingers and kissed him softly. His lips chased after mine as I began to pull away, so I moved back in for a longer kiss, trying to keep in mind that we were in public.

Then I pulled away, but not much. 

“I want to give us a try.” I whispered against his lips, and a physical relief flooded into Rhys’ body. 

“Thank God.” He whispered back, running his nose against mine. I laughed, hard, resting my forehead on his cheek, appreciating his fervent approval of my decision. “I don’t know how well I’d have succeeded in pretending last night never happened. Especially since I can’t seem to stop reliving it in my mind.” He brought a hand up to my hip and stroked my leg with his thumb. “I definitely wouldn’t have been able to pretend that I didn’t want to do it again, soon.” He said this softly again, aware of others, right by my ear. I shivered, enjoying the rumble of his voice.

I leaned my head on his shoulder, tilting my head up to kiss his neck.

Then I heard a sound of a throat clearing, pointedly. I lifted my head. Blane was standing behind us, with a paper in his hand.

I sighed as Rhys looked around too.

“Um.” Blane started, smoothly. “Do you think you could sign this?” Blane asked. He had a Sharpie and a napkin in his hands.

Rhys smiled, but it didn’t really reach his eyes.

“Yea, man.” He took the pen and napkin, putting it on the bar. “What are you called?” He asked. I watched Rhys. It was interesting to finally see him in his role as a celebrity. My chin was propped on my hand as Blane answered his question and Rhys set to writing. Once Blane’s eyes met mine, I had no idea what he made of the exchange he’d just witnessed between the person he would only ever see as the actor who played Robert Woodley and me.

“Cheers.” Blane said, as he walked away folding up his napkin. He left the pub. His shift was over too.

I shook my head. “That’s weird.” I commented. Rhys chuckled. I’d never really understood the idea of autographs since I was a kid, but it was even weirder when I witness it firsthand. 

“I do want one thing for us, though.” I quickly refocused on us. Rhys nodded, wanting to go on. “I need us to take it slow.” I told him. “Much slower than we did last night.” I laughed out the last bit. 

“Okay.” Rhys agreed nodding again. “I think I can do that.”

“Also, I need to ask you something.” I said.

“Shoot.” He compelled.

“On a scale of one to ten, how good is your self-control?” I asked, curious.

He squinted and smiled at the same time, confused by this train of thought. “Um, well.” He thought. “I’d say I’m a six and a half.” He laughed. “Why?”

It was my turn to laugh. “Well because my self-control is about a two.” I informed. “So I’m going to ask another thing.” I squeezed my eyes, wishing I knew how to be more eloquent.

“Okay.” Rhys laughed, completely lost.

“I need you to be in charge of making sure we don’t move too fast.” I told him. “Because I don’t have the ability to resist a hunk of man like you.” I said jokingly, but being completely truthful. I put my hand on his hand that was on his knee. 

His face fell. I laughed. He looked me up and down. “And you think I can do much better?” He asked, hot eyes racing along my figure. “You were there last night. I couldn’t even keep my hands to myself.” He protested. I smiled, very glad that he hadn’t kept his hands to himself. 

“But you just admitted to having better self-control than me.” I argued, smiling a little.

“I guess.” He conceded. He took my hand and held it in both of his. “I’ll try. But I have to warn you, I’m kind of hopeless when it comes to you.” He admitted. His raised an eyebrow and a little silly grin made my stomach flip over. I liked the idea of making him hopelessly unself-controlled, even if I wanted to give it a try.

I smiled. “Which is one of the things that breaks all of my self-control.” I told him. I looked over Rhys’s shoulder and saw Shona watching me, and Rhys. I brushed off my jolt of worry and glanced at the clock on the wall. I groaned. “I should go. I have homework. Walk me to my car?” I asked.

“Of course.” We hopped down, exiting the pub. Hand in hand, I lead the way to my car down the dusky sidewalk.

“I completely forgot to tell you,” Rhys started. “I have a friend coming into town on Thursday. I can’t wait for you two to meet. Are you working?” He asked.

“Until eleven.” I told him. “I could come by after.”

“Brilliant.” He sounded excited. “I’ll get to introduce you as my girlfriend.” He said it, and I could tell he really liked the way it sounded.

I grinned. “I guess you will.” I leaned into him when we reached my car. He threw his arms around me.

I leaned in and kissed him. He opened my car door and I got in.

“I’ll bet the paps will find out in less than two weeks.” He said before he closed my door.


End file.
